Liverpool

Liverpool: Richard Keys makes worrying claim after Champions League final

|
Image for Liverpool: Richard Keys makes worrying claim after Champions League final

Presenter Richard Keys has claimed that there wasn’t enough staff at the Champions League final to put the proper practice into action, following the chaotic scenes involving Liverpool supporters that marred the event.

Liverpool missed out on their chance to win the Champions League when they disappointingly lost 1-0 in the final in Paris against a Real Madrid side that had just two shots on target in the game, one of which was the goal from Vinicius Junior.

However, one of the main talking points from the final was the situation before the game, when the game was delayed by 36 minutes with many fans facing delays getting into the stadium.

After the delayed kick-off and locals without tickets getting into the stadium, Keys wrote on his personal blog, claiming that there were not enough staff to deal with the situation appropriately.

He said: “The first security ring was to check for forgeries and stop the holders of those tickets from gaining access to the second perimeter. It’s standard practice – and works well if organised properly, but that requires enough staff to do the job. From what I’ve been told, there simply weren’t enough staff on duty – stewards or police.”

Have Liverpool underachieved this season?

Yes

Yes

No

No

TIF Thoughts on Keys’ comments…

Liverpool had the opportunity to win the quadruple this season, but instead came out with two trophies in the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, as they fell short in the Premier League and the Champions League. But the issues off the field are have somewhat taken the spotlight off their recent efforts to win silverware and create history.

The fact that the Champions League final – one of the biggest sporting events of the year – had to be delayed, indicates how serious the issue before the game was, while Liverpool fans queuing outside the ground whilst the game had kicked off is more evidence at how short-staffed the event was.

There should have been a forecast on how many people attending the stadium, even those without tickets trying to get in, so more police should have been outside the ground, which could have consequently stopped the issue from occurring.

Keys’ claim certainly adds further weight to the argument that the fans were not at fault on Saturday – despite officials’ claims to the contrary.

Share this article