UEFA, the governing body of European football, bears "primary responsibility" for the disastrous organizational and safety fiasco that turned last season's Champions League final into a painful nightmare for thousands of ticket holders, according to an independent review into the event. 

The blockbuster showdown between English powerhouse Liverpool and Spanish giants Real Madrid in May was marred by the chaos outside the Stade de France in Paris, which saw Liverpool fans unable to get into the stadium and teargassed by local police. 

The review, which was published on Monday night, found that UEFA has "marginalized" its own safety and security unit, and "it should have retained a monitoring and oversight role, to ensure it all worked. It self-evidently did not."

"UEFA did remain involved throughout, and so it should. However, it did so ineffectually, without taking responsibility and without doing so through the appropriate staff: its own safety and security unit," said the review. 

"The panel has concluded that UEFA, as event owner, bears primary responsibility for failures which almost led to disaster." 

The review also pointed the finger at the French police, who failed to monitor access routes to the stadium as "there was an absence of contingency plans" and no "effective plan to deal with anti-social behavior or violence perpetrated by locals." 

"Ultimately the failures of this approach culminated in a policing operation that deployed tear gas and pepper spray: weaponry which has no place at a festival of football... It is remarkable that no one lost their life."

Following the publication of the review, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis released a statement, expressing regret for "all those who were affected by the events that unfolded on what should have been a celebration at the pinnacle of the club season." 

"I would like to apologize to the supporters of Liverpool," he said. "For the experiences many of them had when attending the game and for the messages released prior to and during the game, which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation leading to the delayed kick-off." 

Later in the day, Liverpool revealed that they had not received a copy of the report before it was officially published on UEFA's website, which is "hugely disappointing." 

"It's been over eight months of work by the independent panel and it is only right and proper to publish the contents of the report to our supporters appropriately," a statement from the club read.  

"We will await to receive a copy of the report and digest it thoroughly before making any further comment."