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BT Sport host Jake Humphrey issued an apology to Liverpool fans for their "completely false" coverage of last year's Champions League final.
The broadcaster came under-fire for how they reported the awful scenes outside the Stade de France in Paris last May, which saw French police use tear gas and pepper spray on thousands of supporters who had been locked out. Reds fans had been blamed for the chaotic scenes with accusations that many had turned up with fake or no tickets for the match against Real Madrid.
But subsequent investigations have cleared them of any wrongdoing, with UEFA’s own review published last week concluding the governing body bears the "primary responsibility" for organisational and safety failures.
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Ahead of tonight's (February 21) clash at Anfield, which sees a repeat of the final, Humphrey said: "We are hugely regretful that we were reading out those false statements, the only statements shared on the big screens as we were inside the stadium was a completely false narrative.
"I just want to say sorry to all the people involved in this football club, the stress was added to you because of us sharing that information, which we now know to be completely false.
"The truth is that those football fans that were being accused were out there saving the lives of other football fans, including our family members and our friends."
UEFA-commissioned review found their failings “almost led to a disaster”. The final was delayed for 37 minutes after poor planning led to fans bottlenecking at gates, with attempts made to blame it on supporters arriving late – despite issues arising about three hours before kick-off.
Humphrey added: “If lessons aren’t learned, then next time that this happens there could be even more of a tragedy than we saw on that night in Paris, so let’s hope those lessons are taken on board, absolutely, but it can’t be repeated often enough – Liverpool fans absolutely not to blame for what happened that evening despite the initial messaging that came from the governing body.”
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