‘I’d been to every Liverpool European final...until yesterday
FAN, 75, MISSES FIRST BIG GAME IN JETS HELL
A KOP fan who has been to all Liverpool’s 12 European finals missed a trip to Kiev when his flight was cancelled.
Tearful pensioner Ernie Ashley listened to his side’s 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid on his radio as hundreds of devastated supporters saw their planes grounded.
The 75-year-old Scouser said: “This would have been my 13th final – there’s definitely something unlucky about 13.
“I’m just so sad that there’s a ticket here and there are some good lads that have not got one. I got a call at ten to seven saying the flight had been cancelled.
“The girl was in tears telling me and I was in tears with her to be honest. I’ll live to see another final under manager Jurgen Klopp.
“I’d love to go down to the airport and give it to a genuine fan but you don’t know in this day and age – they might sell it over the odds and it would come back to me.”
Ernie’s European odyssey has taken him to a string of cities on the continent including Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Paris and Dortmund.
Hundreds of disappointed Liverpool fans missed out on the “journey of a lifetime” to Kiev after four flights were scrapped over “insufficient landing space” at Boryspil Airport. Tour operator Worldchoice Sport cancelled three of them.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, who had tried to sort out the mess, tweeted: “Huge disappointment that our efforts to sort #LFC fan flights has not worked.
“Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko and airport directors did all possible with landing slots and planes but not able to get over the line.
“Frustrated by utter shambles faced by loyal fans.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher stole the show before the Champions League final by twerking surrounded by a group of boozing fans.
He joined supporters in a singalong in Kiev ahead of the big kick-off. The ex-Reds defender is currently suspended from his Sky Sports pundit role after spitting at a Manchester United fan in March.
But he refused to let the incident ruin his Champions League fun.
Carragher, 40, joked on Twitter: “Imagine what I’ll be like if we win!”
Kiev was also on high alert pre-game when five metro stations were closed after authorities received an alleged bomb threat yesterday afternoon.
Dnipro, Hydropark, Livoberezhna, Arsenalna and Heroiv Dnipro were all shut in the security scare. Subway operator Kyiv Metro wrote on Facebook: “The stations are closed to passengers and checks are being carried out.”