An independent review into the treatment of Liverpool fans outside the 2022 Champions League final has said that "primary responsibility" lies with UEFA.

Liverpool supporters were penned in and tear-gassed prior to the 2021-22 final, which took place at the Stade de France in Paris.

The final between the Reds and Real Madrid, which was won 1-0 by the Spanish side, was delayed by 37 minutes as operational issues outside the stadium created access problems for fans.

UEFA and French authorities initially blamed ticketless Liverpool fans for the scenes outside the ground.

However, an independent report, which was commissioned by UEFA, claimed that there was "no evidence" to back the "reprehensible claims" that ticketless supporters had led to the events.

Instead, the report states that failings by European football's governing body and a lack of venue assessment by French authorities were responsible for the scenes outside the Stade de France.

The report reads: "The panel has concluded that Uefa, as event owner, bears primary responsibility for failures which almost led to disaster.

"All the stakeholders interviewed by the panel have agreed that this situation was a near-miss: a term used when an event almost turns into a mass fatality catastrophe."

French police have also been criticised for their handling of the event, and the excessive use of tear gas and pepper spray was found to be one of eight key factors that resulted in the chaotic scenes.

Among the other factors were large numbers of Liverpool fans who were being directed to the Stade de France Saint-Denis train station, as well as poor planning of the route used between the train station and the stadium.

There were also poor ticketing systems in place and a failure by police to prevent large groups of locals from entering the stadium without tickets.

The planning period for the final was shorter than usual due to the change of venues after the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg was stripped of its right to host the match following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

UEFA have stated that "a special refund scheme for fans" will be announced in due course, while they have again apologised to Liverpool for the events that took place. body check tags ::