Lille blame United for Champions League crowd crush

Lille have today blamed Manchester United for the supply of counterfeit tickets which led to apparent over-crowding at Tuesday's Champions League match in France.

The French club's director general, Xavier Thuilot, has claimed that United's early distribution of tickets for the match allowed high-quality fakes to be produced.

Ugly scenes developed near the start of the last-16 first leg at the Stade Felix-Bollaert, with United fans seemingly crushed against a 10-foot-high barrier at the front of their enclosure due to the unexpectedly high number of supporters in that part of the stadium.

UEFA have since launched an investigation into the events surrounding the match - including Lille's near walk-off following Ryan Giggs' disputed winner - but Thuilot is adamant it is the Premiership leaders who are to blame for the ticketing fiasco.

He told a press conference this morning: "We sent their quota of places to Manchester several weeks ago, as is the usual thing to do.

"But the English club, instead of distributing the tickets to their supporters on their arrival at the stadium (or) on their descent from the bus, sent them out a month ago.

"The result - some very good forgeries, which have allowed some supporters to enter the stand reserved for them. All the forged tickets on the night were Manchester United tickets."

The police at the stadium that night have been accused of being heavy-handed in their approach to the incident.

But Damien Vanoise, the chief of security at the Felix-Bollaert, has been quick to defend his colleagues.

"I think we responded to what happened," he told French radio station RTL. "We didn't intervene by chance.

"There was not even a problem of communication. From the moment we saw the supporters who were trying to pull on the railings, what is the interpretation we can make from that - us, as security guards? For me, it is violent behaviour."

Vanoise added: "I can tell you that nobody was crushed in the wire fencing.

"There weren't too many people in that stand. The stand was not full."

UEFA's control and disciplinary body will discuss the safety and security issues on March 22, more than two weeks after the second leg of the last-16 tie.