'don't kill the fans': Liverpool mayor Rotheram reveals his conversation with UEFA president Ceferin

Speaking to the BBC, Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotheram said: "What should have been the conclusion to a brilliant season, instead ended on something of a sour note, but that was nothing to do with events on the pitch.

"I twas outraged by the treatment of Liverpool fans at the hands of the French police and the scenes outside Stade de France were completely chaotic, with what appeared to be a breakdown of control and communication.

"I pleaded with everybody who would listen to me including the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin to help Liverpool fans. He was not interested in what was happening outside. In fact quite the opposite; his arrogance astounded me.

"He was saying the authorities have killed themselves to get that game on — and I appealed to him and said 'well don't kill the fans outside' and he stopped the conversation. He indicated that I was being disrespectful."

Rotheram, who personally attended the Champions League final in Paris on May 28, was able to witness the disturbing scenes outside Stade de France firsthand.

Organisational failures, overcrowding and heavy policing resulted in Liverpool supporters being pepper-sprayed and assaulted outside the stadium. UEFA have commissioned an independent report.

Source: BBC News