Thousands of fans fly out to Kiev for Champions League Final

Jurgen Klopp receives gift as he arrives in Kiev Credit: UEFA

Thousands of Liverpool fans have flown out to Kiev for the Champions League final, despite two cancelled flights.

Almost 1,000 supporters face missing the game of a lifetime after operator Worldchoice Sports cancelled two flights because it did not have sufficient landing slots at Boryspil Airport.

City mayor Joe Anderson said he was working with his Kiev counterpart - former boxer Vitali Klitschko - and airlines to find a solution for all those who face missing out, but said he was "gutted" he was unable to find a solution.

More than six and a half thousand fans have flown from Liverpool John Lennon airport to the Ukrainian capital over the past two days.

Four and a half thousand left on flights on Saturday morning.

Among the Reds fans, José Roberto Cordeiro, Robert Firmino's dad who will be cheering his son's side on in the final.

Ernie Ashley left stranded after his flight was cancelled Credit: Liverpool Echo

A 75-year-old Liverpool fan who has followed the Reds to every single European final they have appeared in was left in tears after his flight to Kiev was cancelled at the last minute.

Ernie Ashley, from Woolton, Merseyside, has supported Liverpool for 68 years, and tonight’s Champions League clash would have been his thirteenth European final - he said he will now be listening to the game on the radio alone.