More than 2,000 officers police protests and Champions League final in London

Forces outside the capital drawn on for Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid match and a Tommy Robinson march and counter-protest

More than 2,000 officers have been deployed across London, including more than 400 from outside the capital, to police the Champions League final, a protest by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a counter-demonstration.

The final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid takes place at Wembley on Saturday evening. And, earlier, a protest organised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, more commonly known as Tommy Robinson, set off from the Victoria area on Saturday, ending in Parliament Square where speeches took place.

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Champions League final chaos leaves French official with ‘many regrets’

  • Michel Cadot says it was ‘an important failure that damages us’
  • He insists use of teargas ended up being only viable response

The French government official investigating the chaos at the Champions League final in Paris in which police used teargas and pepper spray against Liverpool fans admitted there were “many regrets” over what happened but said preparations had been robust.

Michel Cadot, the sports ministry’s delegate on major events, said those involved in planning for the match – including the French Football Federation and the police – had acted in a “strong and satisfactory” manner, but admitted the occasion was “an important failure that damages us”.

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Report highlights ‘multiple failures’ in handling of Champions League final

  • French government release 30-page report on systemic failures
  • Liverpool fans were attacked outside Stade de France in May

A French government report into the problems at the Champions League final has highlighted “multiple failures” in the management of the crowd in Paris.

The 30-page report, handed to the prime minister’s office on Friday, focused on systemic failures and “the presence of malevolent individuals” in the vicinity of the stadium. Large numbers of Liverpool fans have reported being attacked and having possessions stolen outside the Stade de France.

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Fury in France as Champions League final chaos tarnishes nation’s global image

As elections loom, public turns against interior minister Gérald Darmanin after he blames Liverpool fans for Paris fiasco

When Paris stepped in to host the Champions League final, the biggest match in international football after the World Cup final, the French authorities saw a chance to show that the nation was the ideal place to hold global sporting events.

This weekend, those hopes appear to be dashed as French opinion polls show widespread disapproval of the chaos that ensued, amid growing criticism of politicians and the police.

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Champions League final chaos shows France in bad light, say opposition leaders

Jean-Luc Mélenchon criticises ‘confrontational policing’ at Paris final, saying country seems ill-prepared for future events

French opposition politicians have criticised the government over policing at the Champions League final in Paris on Saturday night, saying the chaotic scenes showed a poor image of France.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the radical left leader, whose left alliance is seeking to win seats in forthcoming parliament elections, said the “lamentable” and “worrying” scenes suggested France and its security services were not prepared for sports events such as next year’s Rugby World Cup or the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Liverpool fans liken ‘terrifying’ treatment in Paris to Hillsborough

Witnesses say they feared for their lives as French police fired teargas into the crowds ahead of Champions League final

Families affected by the Hillsborough disaster have compared the “terrifying” treatment of Liverpool fans at the Champions League final to the crush that led to the deaths of 97 supporters in 1989.

Witnesses described seeing children “trembling with fear”, and adults scared for their lives, as French police fired teargas into crowds outside the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night.

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Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid: Champions League last 16 – live!

3 min: Real pass it around the back awhile. It’s a period of sterile possession that encourages plenty of pantomime whistling from the home crowd.

1 min: The first roar of the evening as Mbappe turns gracefully into space and immediately sprays a pass wide right to Di Maria. The move fizzles out but what an early statement of intent by Mbappe.

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Chelsea win Champions League after Kai Havertz stuns Manchester City

When Thomas Tuchel was given the job of reviving Chelsea at the end of January, he wanted to return them to next season’s Champions League via a top-four Premier League finish. The notion that he might actually win the thing for only the second time in the club’s history was ludicrous.

Not any more. On a night of glory for him and his team, the manager applied the final brush strokes to his renaissance masterpiece, out-manoeuvring his friend and rival, Pep Guardiola, and watching Kai Havertz score the decisive goal just before half-time.

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Manchester City v Chelsea: Champions League final – live!

Half-time entertainment. As things stand, it’s one heck of a day for west London. Paul Doyle was at Wembley to see Brentford finally make it to the promised land of the Premier League. Here’s his take on an excellent performance from the Bees.

Related: Ivan Toney, Brentford’s smooth operator, leads the way at Wembley | Paul Doyle

City look a little stunned as they make their way down the tunnel, Pep having very quickly disappeared down it beforehand. Chelsea stroll off, ten feet tall. A gorgeous Kai Havertz finish is the difference; Chelsea are 45 minutes away from their second European Cup! City have some thinking to do.

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Champions League: FA in talks over relocating final as Turkey joins red list

  • Manchester City and Chelsea fans affected by move
  • FA in talks with Uefa over bringing final to England

The Football Association is in talks with Uefa over relocating the Champions League final to England after Turkey was placed on the UK government’s travel red list.

Uefa had been expected to confirm details on Friday for the final on 29 May, with Manchester City and Chelsea fans expected to be allocated at least 4,000 tickets each for the match in Istanbul.

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European Super League: Premier League ‘big six’ sign up to competition

European football was thrown into turmoil on Sunday night after new plans for a European super league were revealed that would mean six English clubs – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham – joining the breakaway competition alongside three teams from each of Italy and Spain.

Related: Only someone who truly hates football can be behind a European super league

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Manchester City banned from Champions League for two seasons

  • Ban starts next season and City also fined €30m (£25m)
  • Club say they will appeal to CAS at ‘earliest opportunity’

Manchester City have been banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons by Uefa and fined €30m (£25m) after they were found to have seriously misled European football’s governing body and broken financial fair play rules.

The severity of the ban from both of Uefa’s elite club competitions and the scale of the fine reflect how seriously Uefa’s FFP compliance bodies consider the club to have breached the rules and code of conduct.

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World’s football bodies urge Saudi Arabia to stop pirate TV service

Fifa, Uefa and Premier League ask Saudi government to clamp down on beoutQ

The world’s biggest football authorities, including those who run the Premier League, World Cup and Champions League, have called on Saudi Arabia to take action to stop a sophisticated, homegrown pirate TV and streaming service that is illegally broadcasting matches internationally.

The strongly worded letter from the exasperated sports bodies – including Fifa, Uefa, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A as well as the Asian Football Confederation – comes after almost 18 months fruitlessly attempting to mount a legal challenge in Saudi Arabia to block the service, called beoutQ.

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Liverpool win Champions League after Salah and Origi sink Tottenham

Presumably, none of the Liverpool supporters will care too greatly that the kaleidoscope of banners they had unfurled in Madrid suddenly look so out of date. Liverpool had their sixth star and when we see them again next season we can be sure they will have added “Madrid, 2019” to the red, yellow and white flags that have been fluttering from Spanish balconies, hotel windows and lampposts in memory of Istanbul, 2005, as well as Rome, 1977 and 1984, plus Wembley, 1978, and Paris, 1981.

Related: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Champions League final – live!

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Tottenham comeback stuns Ajax and sets up final against Liverpool

When everything changed, there were suddenly seven, eight, maybe even nine Ajax players flat out on the pitch, their faces buried into the turf, not wanting to see any more. Somehow, Spurs had done it and in those moments we were reminded, once again, about the glories of this sport, about how brutal football can be and how, every once in a while, there is a story that can make your bones vibrate.

We have had two of them in quick succession bearing in mind Liverpool’s destruction of Barcelona the previous night. It will be an all-Premier League final in Madrid on 1 June and when Lucas Moura completed his hat-trick, five minutes into stoppage time, it was one of those rare occasions for every single member of the Spurs travelling party when it must have felt like the blood in their veins had been converted into the finest of red wine.

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Barcelona v Manchester United: Champions League quarter-final – live!

23 min “The most remarkable thing about Larsson’s spellat Man United,” emails Simon McMahon, is that it was IN 2007!!! Time really does speed up the older you get. Soon I’ll be eating breakfast every five minutes.”

This sounds like an excellent ruse, and well worth wearing a suit to go to the newsagent.

22 min “The ‘Walking’ in ‘Walking to Glory’ sounds like a schoolchild’s go at translating ‘Caminando’,” advises Charles Antaki, “but to be fair, caminar can mean to walk, but also, presumably more appropriately, moving or, better marching. Here endeth the evening class Spanish lesson, misremembered from a very long time ago.”

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Manchester United v Barcelona: Champions League quarter-final, first leg – live!

“We need to improve on the first leg [of the PSG tie]. We know we need to play better at home. It’s down to us to try to dominant the game. If we let them dominate, we’re in for a hard game. So that’s part of the battle, to maybe take control of the ball.”

He’s unsure how long Rashford will be able to last because he’s just recovered his fitness. “But you know Rash, he lives for these games.”.

The teams are on the pitch at Old Trafford going through their pre-game stretches and what not. “Lionel Messi warms exactly how he wants to warm up,” announces Steve McManaman, almost swooning. That warm-up, by the way, seems to involve some gentle stroking the ball about and the occasional caress of a baroque tattoo on his left leg (the tattoo appears to feature a ball and a hand, no doubt Messi’s own tribute to Diego Maradona).

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