Hundreds of Liverpool fans have been unable to get into Stade de France in Paris for the Champions League final, despite having tickets.

The stadium’s security processes appeared to have been overwhelmed by the crowd numbers, leaving many fans waiting outside the ground for hours.

The beginning of the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid was delayed for 37 minutes as security staff struggled to deal with the queueing fans.

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Some were finally allowed into the ground at half-time.

Supporter Colm Lacey told the Associated Press that he had seen “children crying, people trapped” outside the entrances.

“People started jumping the queue, then they ripped the gate open and then there was a push,” he added.

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Police officers with batons and riot shields ran from gate to gate to prevent groups of fans forcing their way into the stadium without showing tickets and officers used tear gas on fans repeatedly.

Sky correspondent James Matthews is at the game and said: “It was Liverpool’s biggest night of the season but, whatever happened on the pitch, it was a shambles off it.

“The kick off may have been delayed but, even as it approached half-time, several hundred Liverpool fans were still queuing to get in.

“Many of them showed us their tickets and told how they’d been waiting for more than two hours to gain entry. This, after a long and expensive journey to get here.

“Big football occasions attract large numbers of ticketless opportunists and there was clearly a police effort to weed them out.

“It meant that large groups of supporters were caught up in a robust policing operation that saw groups of officers in riot gear conducting chases around the stadium concourse and using irritant spray and tear gas.

“Liverpool fans were caught up in the chaos and had to endure the irritant – the choice was to run or lose a place in the queue.

“All this on European club football’s biggest occasion – a night on which, for too many, the showpiece showed itself shambolic.”

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