Two survivors of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 have reportedly committed suicide since the Champions League final earlier this year, having been "retriggered" by the events in Paris.
May's meeting between Liverpool and Real Madrid was overshadowed by chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France as thousands of supporters were directed into narrow tunnels and held there for hours with no information from authorities.
French police tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed supporters indiscriminately as the vast majority of them waited peacefully to get into the stadium, with many still stuck outside when the match was due to kick off despite arriving when advised to, more than three hours earlier.
Heavy crowding in an underpass and at the gates of the stadium led to fears of a crush happening through no fault of the supporters, as was the case when 97 Liverpool fans lost their lives at an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough in 1989.
While such tragic scenes were avoided on the day in Paris, a Hillsborough Survivors Support group said at an event on Monday that two Liverpool fans - one aged 52 and the other 63 - had since killed themselves after attending the Champions League final in the French capital.
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"This year alone, we've had three suicides. That's three too many. One was just before the anniversary because he didn't want to face another anniversary, two of them were retriggers from Stade de France," Peter Scarfe said at the event.
"The memory of 1989 has come back to haunt them because the events at the Stade de France have many points in common with those at Hillsborough.
"In both cases there were crowd movements complicated by bottlenecks, people pressed against each other under a tunnel, blocked turnstiles preventing entry into the stadium and above all false charges later."
In another parallel to the Hillsborough tragedy, the authorities appeared to try to shift the blame onto Liverpool supporters in the aftermath of the issues, first accusing fans of turning up late and then claiming that tens of thousands had turned up without tickets.
Almost 2,000 Liverpool fans are understood to be suing UEFA over their organisation of the final due to injuries or psychological trauma they suffered as a result of the situation.
Members of the media and families of the players also experienced trouble getting into the stadium, while fans of both sides were subjected to attacks by armed local gangs after the match.
Barney Corkhill
