POLICE have issued a statement following last night's incidents at the Champions League Final at the Stade de France in Paris.

Liverpool’s Champions League final against Real Madrid was delayed amid chaotic scenes outside the stadium.

There were shambolic scenes outside the ground in the hours before the match and the stadium announcer confirmed at 8.46pm local time – 14 minutes before kick-off – that kick-off had been delayed.

UEFA at first confirmed it would start at 8.15pm. The stadium announcer claimed it was due to “the late arrival of fans at the stadium” and the governing body said it was due to “security reasons”.

Organisational chaos led to hundreds of fans missing the kick-off as, with huge queues building outside, French police locked one of the main gates at the Liverpool end and then pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed supporters, including children and the disabled, pressed up against the fence with nowhere to go.

Assistant Chief Constable at Merseyside Police Chris Green said: “We are aware of a number of reports relating to incidents both before and after last night’s Champions League Final at the Stade de France in Paris.

 “We are also aware that Liverpool FC have requested a formal investigation from UEFA and we will be linking in with both the club, UEFA and the UK Football Policing Unit to pass on the observations of our officers who attended the game and took part in the pre-match meetings with the relevant authorities.

“As with all European matches officers from Merseyside were deployed in France to work in an observatory and advisory capacity with the local officers, and they have reported the vast majority of fans behaved in an exemplary manner, arriving at turnstiles early and queuing as directed and their observations will be passed on to the relevant authorities as part of the debrief for the game.

"Many thousands of fans have travelled throughout this season to matches across Europe and we have worked closely with our supporter groups, the Club and European hosts to ensure that the matches passed without incident and fans were kept safe.

“Our officers returning today will conduct a formal debrief to ensure that we can fully support any subsequent investigation following last night’s game.

“We know that people would have witnessed a lot of distressing scenes last night and we wish everyone returning home from Paris a safe journey.

“Our focus today will be supporting Liverpool city council with the policing of the homecoming parade.”