Kop payback: This one's on U.S.

LIVERPOOL’S American bosses will cough up cash for fans who were barred from the Champions League final despite having valid tickets.

An estimated 2,000 were turned away from the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Wednesday night as bungling stewards allowed hordes of non-ticket holders to barge through security.

But Reds followers who bought official tickets through the club and missed out on the big match against AC Milan could now get their money back.

The idea came from the club’s new US owners, billionaires George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks.

The businessmen, who took over the club this season in a deal said to be worth around £430million, were horrified to see footage of supporters in tears outside the ground.

And yesterday they were in talks on how to ease the pain of Kop fans who suffered the double blow of missing the game and having their team, skippered by Steven Gerrard, beaten 2-1.

A source said: “The new owners were appalled to see fans left out of pocket after travelling all the way to Athens at great expense.

“The scenes of people holding legitimate tickets for the game and being unable to get into the ground really wound them up.

“It is a major gesture. They already feel part of the club and were swept away by the tide of emotion all the way to the final.

“They will leave no stone unturned to make sure that genuine Liverpool fans have a chance of getting their money back.”

Gillett and Hicks have already managed to endear themselves to the Kop faithful by exploring the possibility of extending the capacity of the club’s proposed new stadium.