A LIVERPOOL fan from Powys has vowed never to return to France after he got caught up in the chaos of Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris.

Harry Bastable, from Llandrindod Wells, said he had “never been scared at a football match before”, until he and his friends were engulfed in the shambolic scenes which saw French riot police use tear gas on supporters of the Anfield club. 

Harry, 29, revealed he witnessed some fans getting crushed and detailed injuries suffered, said French football fans intermingled with Liverpool fans trying to steal genuine tickets, while a friend had his phone stolen in a city centre pub.

Kick-off at the Stade de France, in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, was delayed by 35 minutes due to what competition organisers UEFA and French authorities initially blamed on Liverpool fans turning up late en-masse to the stadium, or even showing up without tickets and trying to force their way in.

Harry (left) with a friend at the FA Cup final at Wembley earlier this month.

These claims were soon refuted and discredited though, with most supporters of Jurgen Klopp’s side turning up hours before kick-off but then funnelled into a dangerous bottle neck. Fans spoke of long queues and inadequate numbers of staff checking tickets in the hours leading up to the game, which led to a heavy-handed police response to the build-up of fans and fears of crushing.

Newtown factory manager Harry was eventually let into the stadium, home of French giants Paris Saint-Germain, where his side lost 1-0 to Real Madrid – but he says the result became irrelevant after what he and his friends had experienced.  

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the father-of-two, who recently got married.

“I was in the crowd when we got locked out and saw some of the crushing but didn’t see the tear gas. It was awful and I won’t be going back to France again, I’ve never been scared at a football match before.

“I wasn’t even bothered about the game once we finally got in. We were waiting over two hours, a lady in front of me had her legs all cut and bruised from being pinned against the railings.

“The locals were in amongst us trying to steal tickets and they were the ones pushing through the gates.”

County Times: Harry Bastable, from Llandrindod, was caught up in the carnage before kick-off in Paris on SaturdayHarry Bastable, from Llandrindod, was caught up in the carnage before kick-off in Paris on Saturday

Harry was at the game with friends Shaun Nicholls, also from Llandrindod, and Ad Caren. He follows Liverpool home and away, having earlier this month been to the Champions League semi-final second-leg tie against Villarreal in Spain, as well as at Wembley for the FA Cup final against Chelsea, the latter of which Liverpool won on penalties.

“I get tickets every week so I try my best to get to all home games, but it’s not worth going to European aways if you’re treated like that,” he added.

“My mate’s dad has his phone stolen in a pub in the centre when the local ultras came into the pub and the riot police moved them all out aggressively.”

Hoards of Liverpool fans experienced similar trauma to Harry, with another, Tom Whitehurst, saying he had to get his disabled son out of the way after they were pepper-sprayed.

French authorities earlier today hit out at what it said was “industrial-scale” ticket fraud at Saturday's final despite a row over the game's policing.

Ministers acknowledged difficulties in managing crowds, but claim organised fraud was the root cause of the problems.

France's interior and sports ministers have been pointing blame for the chaos at fans with fake tickets and local youths trying to force their way into the stadium. UEFA initially blamed the late arrival of Liverpool fans for the problems.

Harry said friends were caught up in the chaos at this city centre pub (above) which was stormed by riot police.

But Merseyside police, who are responsible for policing in Liverpool and were present in Paris, said the vast majority of Liverpool fans arrived early at the turnstiles and behaved in an “exemplary manner”.

BBC sports journalist Nick Parrott described Saturday as the “most petrifying experience I've ever had at a football match”. He tweeted that locals were trying to force their way into the stadium, leading to security closing the gates and keeping out legitimate fans with tickets.

Liverpool player Andy Robertson described the organisation of the final as a “shambles”, saying he had given a genuine ticket to a friend who was told it was fake and denied entry to the game.