Terrified children were left with tears ‘streaming down their faces’ after police fired tear gas during chaos at Saturday’s Champion League final.

Thousands of Liverpool fans were prevented from entering the Stade de France to see the match against Real Madrid.

Kick-off was delayed by 36 minutes after dangerous bottlenecks and near-crushes were caused near the stadium entrance.

Police used pepper spray on the Liverpool fans, which included young children.

Maxwell, 11, and his dad Jade Pearce, 47, were among those caught up in the chaos.

They were stuck outside the Stade de France for two hours before they were hit with tear gas, which had been fired by French police.

Jade, from Essex, told the Sun: ’Our queue wasn’t moving. There wasn’t any trouble caused by Liverpool fans. We had proper tickets and so did everyone around us.

‘Then suddenly Maxwell started crying as tear gas released nearby hit him.’

Maxwell told his dad he ‘thought he was going to die’ before pleading ‘I don’t want to be here anymore.’

Jade had spent £1,000 overall for the trip, but the pair saw none of the match.

Author Carl Clemente also spoke of his anger at the French police’s tactics to contain fans.

He and his son, Carlos, had been left ‘shocked’ at carnage which took place following the game.

Carlos, 9, had tears streaming down his face after tea gas was fired over the area he was standing in.

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His father Carl told MailOnline: ’My lad was terrified and the smoke got in his eyes and left us both coughing and spluttering with our eyes streaming.

‘What is he going to remember of his first football match ? His sore eyes and police officer shooting tear gas and pepper spray.’

After deciding to push back the start of the match until 21.30 local time, UEFA initially blamed the delay on supporters arriving late to Stade de France.

A statement read: ‘This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access.

‘As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium.

‘UEFA is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.’

A total of 68 people were arrested and 174 people injured before the game took place.

There were then reports of muggings and attacks suffered by fans after the game, with little police presence to interfere.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is among those who have called for a probe into Uefa’s handling of the event.

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Liverpool FC have also requested a formal investigation into the carnage and denied that fans were unruly.

‘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,’ read a statement on Liverpool’s website.

‘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.’

Metro.co.uk reporter Dan Austin, who attended the match, wrote in his first-hand account that he spent two hours and 45 minutes locked outside an entrance to the stadium.

‘The prospect of a serious crush was climbing with every passing minute, as a combination of confusion, panic and more bodies increased the intensity of the situation,’ he wrote.

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