The French sports ministry is calling a meeting tomorrow 'to draw lessons' from the Champions League final in Paris, as the British sports minister called for a 'full and urgent investigation' after people were tear-gassed by riot police and violent clashes broke out in the French capital.
Football fans, politicians and UK authorities have slammed the policing of Liverpool's final, where the Reds lost to Real Madrid 1-0 at the Stade de France, just north of the city, on Saturday evening.
Shambolic scenes outside the ground saw supporters with tickets made to wait in huge queues, before French police used tear gas.
Videos emerged of riot police spraying tear gas at scores of peaceful fans, including women and children, waiting calmly outside the gates.
Some were kept out of the stadium for large swathes of the first half and fans spoke of officers pointing guns at them after the game.
This evening, French minister of sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, tweeted that a meeting tomorrow morning will 'learn all the lessons for our major sporting events'.
She is bringing UEFA, the French Football Federation, the Stade de France, Parisian Police, and state services for Seine-Saint-Denis around the table, to discuss the way that the event was handled.
It comes as a nine-year-old Liverpool fan was seen wiping his eyes after being 'tear gassed' at the event.
Tory MP and sport minister Nigel Huddleston tweeted: 'It is yet to be explained why access to the Stade de France was so limited which led to some fans, including the young and elderly, being attacked with tear gas and unable to reach their seats. A full and urgent investigation must be launched by and French authorities.'
Liverpool FC supporters union Spirit of Shankly said on Twitter today: 'Last night was totally shambolic and extremely dangerous — we are gathering evidence from fans.'
UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said today in the aftermath of the chaos: 'The footage and accounts from Liverpool fans and the media on their entry to the Stade de France last night are deeply concerning.
'Thousands of ticket holders travelled to Paris in good time to support their team in the biggest match of their season.
'I urge UEFA to launch a formal investigation into what went wrong and why, in coordination with stadium staff, the French Police, Federation Francaise de Football, Merseyside Police and Liverpool Football Club.
'It is in the interests of everyone involved to understand what happened and to learn lessons from these events.'
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston tweeted that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) 'shall be working with the appropriate authorities' to find out what happened.
It is understood the UK ambassador to France has contacted the French Ministry of Interior directly urging an investigation.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'Our consular staff are supporting individuals who have been affected by the events in Paris, and are in touch with local authorities.'
It is understood that the DCMS will be contacting Uefa about the matter.
A Liverpool fan who was caught up in the Champions League final chaos described it as a 'war zone' after he and his son were tear gassed by police.
Author Carl Clemente, who has been supporting Liverpool for more than twenty years and travelled all over Europe to see the side, said he was left 'shocked' by the scenes that were played out on the streets of the French capital.
His nine year-old son Carlos was left terrified and had to wipe tears streaming from his eyes after they were caught up in tear gas fired by police at rampaging local Paris thugs.
Mr Clemente, who has written two books on the history of Liverpool, told MailOnline: 'I have been going to games at Anfield and all over Europe for 22 years, since Gerard Houllier was in charge.
'But what I saw on Saturday night I have never seen before and it has put me off going again, obviously I will not stop supporting Liverpool but I will think twice about going to these events again. It was shocking.
'It was the first time I had taken my nine-year-old son to a final, he had wanted to go to Kyiv and Madrid but I thought he was too young so I thought this would be ok as he was the right age.
'We went to the Liverpool fan one park and everything was ok there, we left at 5pm to go to the ground, which was a good four hours before kick off, as we knew it was quite far and we wanted to avoid any hassle.
'Luckily we didn't have any problems getting into the ground but the checks were ridiculous and it was already looking like chaos but once inside what I did notice was the Real Madrid end was full and Liverpool one wasn't.
'I know now that was because of all the chaos at the gates trying to get in but I do wonder if it was wise having a fan zone for Liverpool so far from the ground. The Real Madrid one was a few minutes' walk away while the Liverpool one was across town.'
Mr Clemente added: 'What did annoy me though was when the stadium PA announced that the match was delayed because of fans arriving late. That was completely untrue and I didn't like that, that was a lie.'
In the latest updates from Champions League chaos:
He went on: 'After the game we just wanted to get back to the hotel and so we headed back to the pre-arranged pick up point for the taxi. We were disappointed as we had lost but we'd spent some time together and I saw some Liverpool fans heading towards me.
'They said not to go that way as police were pepper-spraying people and firing tear gas but as it was where the pick up was I carried on.
'As we approached the police you could feel the tension, they were very intimidating and they looked as if they meant business with their body armour.
'The style was very different to what we have back in the UK, there was no smile or hello and it was like a war zone.'
Mr Clemente described how local youths began goading police and Liverpool fans as they walked away and then all of a sudden he was hit by a tear gas canister.
He said: 'The disturbances were not caused by Liverpool fans or Real Madrid fans - it was local gangs goading and the police fired tear gas with a canister hitting me on the ankle.
'The force of it knocked me to the found and I was rolling on the floor. My lad was terrified and the smoke got in his eyes and left us both coughing and spluttering with our eyes streaming.
'Carlos was absolutely terrified, like I said earlier it was like a war zone, the police just seemed to want to use the spray and gas. Carlos couldn't breathe properly and it was an awful experience for him.
'What is he going to remember of his first football match ? His sore eyes and police officer shooting tear gas and pepper spray. I've had to take him to Euro Disney to cheer him up as he's so upset.'
Supporter Greg Scott, said his experience had been 'shocking'.
'I've travelled to many stadiums around Europe, away days, that kind of thing. But never have I seen anything like this, complete lack of control from the police,' he said.
'Their excuses stink - it's nothing to do with the fans, the club, it's (organisers) Uefa and the French police.
'People could have been seriously hurt, we were piled in together for hours in the heat queuing up, and then we had no idea where to go next.
'French police were using tear gas on a calm crowd like it was nothing, those with tickets were kept outside, I didn't see most of the first half.'
Another told of being in 'fear' of the French police.
Supporter Robbie, 24, who did not want to give his surname, said: 'I got pepper-sprayed, the first time that's ever happened to me.
'It was unprovoked, people were just standing there waving at the police to let us in, we had tickets.
'Police were just spraying us for no reason, even kids and older people, it was bad.'
The issues started hours before the game, as tens of thousands of Liverpool fans were funnelled underneath a bridge close to the stadium, where they waited for hours in long queues.
Footage on social media appeared to show people climbing over barriers as crowds built up, and the kick-off was delayed by more than 30 minutes.
Police carrying shields and riot gear moved into the area shortly after 8pm and began using tear gas.
Tensions outside the stadium were then driven by young Parisians, causing ticket gates to be shut.
Bottles were thrown at officers who responded with tear gas.
Supporters argued with ticket officials on the other side of the fence after being refused entry.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: 'I think it is concerning, I think we do need to ensure that they are looking into how this happened.'
He added: 'We've got to learn a little bit about what happened over there, get to the bottom of it.
'But it is concerning to see that people either didn't get into the stadium or were treated in the way that some of them seem to have been treated, with a very aggressive approach.'
French police said 68 people were arrested and 174 people were injured after chaotic scenes before, during and after the match saw riot officers deploy the noxious gas and beat Liverpool supporters with batons.
There was no breakdown of nationalities or reasons for arrest, but a source said the injuries were mainly from tear gas inhalation. A pub of roughly 500 football fans was also set upon by riot police and evacuated.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin declared the chaos was down to ticketless fans trying to force their way into the Stade de France to watch Liverpool take on Real Madrid, and thanked French police for their efforts.
'Thousands of British 'fans', without tickets or with counterfeit tickets, forced entry and sometimes assaulted the stewards. Thank you to all the police forces mobilised this evening in this difficult context,' he tweeted.
But videos have since emerged of riot police spraying tear gas at scores of peaceful fans, including women and children, waiting calmly outside the gates.
It comes as footage from Place de la Nation in central eastern Paris showed officers rushing into bars and brutalising fans with batons.
'The police came at the fans with batons and shields,' said an onlooker who witnessed the trouble, which came during the first half.
'Officers had been standing by with water cannon and other crowd control devices all day, and their numbers increased as the day went on.
'They seemed to be unhappy and so decided to move in. It seemed to be unprovoked.'
A police source said the officers were merely trying to 'crown trouble' among the thousands of Liverpool fans around Place de la Nation.
Liverpool FC meanwhile has demanded a formal enquiry into the treatment of their supporters by the French authorities.
A statement issued by the club after the match read: 'We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France.
'This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight. We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues.'
One fan who declined to give his name said: 'It was complete an utter chaos. I followed Liverpool all over Europe and I was in Istanbul, Kyiv and Madrid and this time I genuinely feared for my life.
'The crush at the checkpoints was ridiculous and I'm amazed people weren't hurt. UEFA and the local police have a lot of questions to answer.
'I saw two women being mugged by locals as they waited to go in and the police stood by and did nothing then at the end of the match they waded in with truncheons and tear gas for no reason.
'There appeared to be large numbers of people without tickets and they were not being properly dispersed by the police. Most of them appeared to be locals who were trying to rush the gates.
'There should have been a property security cordon put up around the ground with ticket checks, but the problem was also the location it's in a built-up residential area and no thought was given to the numbers that would turn up.
'This was a total failure by the police and UEFA. I'm so relieved we aren't reading about fatalities because there could easily have been.'
As the match's 8pm kickoff approached, reports suggested 'hundreds of fans' without tickets attempted to storm the Stade de France ahead of the match, which saw kickoff postponed by 30 minutes amid the disarray.
French police were forced to create a narrow human funnel, prompting crush concerns, as they separated fans trying to enter the venue in concerning scenes harkening to the UEFA Euro 2020 chaos at Wembley stadium.
UEFA has since released a statement that suggested thousands of Liverpool fans had been caught out and tried using 'fake tickets' that didn't work at the turnstiles. The governing body later called for an inquiry from French officials into the use of tear gas on fans at the Stade de France.
Twenty-five minutes before the scheduled kick off Paris police put out a tweet urging fans not to 'rush the gates' as they approached the ground. But by then there were already reports of tear gas and pepper spray being used on fans who had been queuing more than two hours to get in.
Journalists caught up in the chaos allege they were 'forced to delete' incriminating footage of the heavy-handed security response before UEFA officials intervened to calm the situation.
Several Parisian hooligans were able to charge gates and enter the ground while Liverpool fans told of having their tickets snatched by gangs.
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France's left-leaning opposition, criticised the 'lamentable' security operation despite almost 7,000 officers being on duty.
Speaking on French TV station BMFTV, Melenchon said: 'We are not prepared for events such as the Olympic Games (2024) or the World Rugby Championship (2013).
'Let's be clear the role of the police is to guarantee safety and to ensure that a match passes off peacefully but here the strategy failed completely.
'People were treated as we see them being treated during demonstrations in Paris. That is to say we (police) fire tear gas indiscriminately into a crowd and we attack people in a bar.
'This is clearly the fault of the prefect of police and the Interior Minister.'
Speaking to AP while queuing, a fan said: 'It's absolutely horrendous. There's a bottleneck down there and there's literally a six-foot gap for maybe 20,000 Liverpool fans to get in.
'We are absolutely being pushed from pillar to post. I have an 82-year-old father in law here. It's just madness. I'm really sorry but there are just thousands behind us.'
BBC Journalist Nick Parrott, who had attended Saturday's match and was part of a group of fans who were pepper-sprayed, told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'I was outside Gate Y which has been opening and closing repeatedly over the last hour and a half but nobody has been going through. The security staff on the other side advanced and sprayed pepper spray.
'I have seen 10 fans trying to climb over fences. Gate Z is open but there does not seem to be any movement going in. I have never seen this sort of chaos at any match I have been to in a personal capacity.'
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson told the BBC following the game one of this friends was refused entry and accused of having a fake ticket.
'One of my mates got told it was a fake, which I assure you it wasn't. It was a shambles really,' the 28-year-old said.
'To be honest, people were just making it up at times and panicking. Tear gas getting thrown at people was unacceptable.'
Marvin Matip, the brother of Liverpool defender Joel, told Sky Sport Germany: 'The organisation around and in the stadium is unworthy of a Champions League final. Using tear gas in areas with children and uninvolved fans is dangerous!'
Reporter Florian Plettenberg said that Marvin Matip, his wife, who is pregnant, and family were forced to flee the ground and and hide in a restaurant from tear gas. One video shared widely across social media showed a young Liverpool fan coughing and spluttering after being pepper-sprayed by police.
Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish's son Paul who was at the game also tweeted about the chaos.
He said afterwards: 'There was a weird vibe tonight. Team seemed flat. Fans seemed flat. All I can share is how I felt going in to the game and coming out of the game.
'It was horrible. My friend got gassed and is in hospital now. So sad.'
Among hundreds of fans making their way back from Paris today from Gare du Nord in Paris was London mayor Sadiq Khan.
As he queued for the Eurostar, Liverpool fan Mr Khan, who was at the game, told MailOnline: 'Real Madrid's name was always going to be on the cup with the teams they have beaten this season.'
He declined to comment on the chaotic scenes from the Stade France but others at the station slammed UEFA and the local Parisien police.
One Liverpool fan meanwhile told talkSPORT the chaos outside the grounds resulted in his nine-year-old son having a panic attack.
'I'm not very good,' Reds supporter Nick said after the game. 'I'm with my nine-year-old son.
'He saw tear gas being used against fans, we were there two hours before the game.
'The police were kicking off, he's physically shaking with fear. He's nine-years old and I can't stop him from shaking. He's crying his eyes out.'
Kickoff was pushed back to 9.30pm local time (8.30GMT) as a result, with eyewitnesses adding that fans were being held in 'long and slow moving' hour-long queues outside the stadium as the final fast approached.
Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Chris Green released an official statement this morning, saying the 'vast majority of fans behaved in an exemplary manner' but stopped short of condemning his French colleagues.
'We are aware of a number of reported relating to incidents both before and after last night's Champions League Final at the Stade de France in Paris,' the statement read.
'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...
'Our officers returning today will conduct a formal debrief to ensure we can fully support any subsequent investigation following last night's game.
'We know that people would've witnessed a lot of distressing scenes last night and we wish everyone returning home from Paris a safe journey.'
Another Merseyside Police spokesperson said: 'Can only describe it as the worst European match I've ever worked or experienced.
'I thought the behaviour of the fans at the turnstiles was exemplary in shocking circumstances.
'You were not late 100%,' he said in reference to UEFA's insistence that fans arriving late played a part in the chaos.
