Read all 21 recommendations from UEFA’s independent panel report

Following its eight-month investigation, UEFA’s independent panel has issued the following 21 recommendations.

Calculations should be stress tested prior to the event.

UEFA should formally require from the bidding process that the police commit to respecting the Convention on Safety and Security. This should include a requirement to provide the H&S unit with a summary of the police response plan well in advance of the MD.

Where this has not yet happened, the UEFA S&S unit should proactively identify and engage police commanders, supporting access to relevant expertise and inviting them to act as active observers of policing operations at UCL quarter-finals and semi-finals in order to gain experience, particularly in relation to the fan profile of potential finalist clubs. The jury recommends that UEFA switch to digital ticketing at future UCLFs as soon as possible. UEFA must ensure that host venues can fully support this from the bidding process onwards.

UEFA must optimize communication and messaging to fans, using as many platforms as possible, in terms of event facilities, mobility, routes and access modes. Above all, it should integrate the involvement of fan organizations and finalist stewards into its communication strategy, to effectively disseminate urgent information and messages. UEFA should also consider the use of large screens at key entry points and monitor and ensure the integrity of event signage.

The role of the Supporter Liaison Officer should be clarified, including involvement in security planning and supporting informational dialogue between event organizers and supporters. As part of their preparations for a UCLF, clubs should ensure that their RES play an active role in designing, clarifying and implementing communications to and from their supporters regarding the mobility concept and participate in visits preparations, safety and organization meetings.

Football Supporters Europe and its affiliated supporter organizations should be involved as key stakeholders throughout the planning process and their representatives should act as integrated observers on UCLF Day. They should also be included in post-game analysis. Protocols for achieving this goal must be established in writing.

To go out. The committee recommends that the French authorities review the framework relating to the storage and availability of images and other investigative materials, which is likely to improve public safety and security. The panel also recommends that this is an issue that should be addressed by UEFA in its requirements for host countries.

UEFA’s application requirements for UCLF ask applicants to confirm that they will comply with the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sporting Events (Council of Europe Treaty Series – No. 218). We recommend that this document also requires stakeholders to undertake rigorous checks to ensure such compliance. In the case of UCLF22, no tendering process took place and therefore no such confirmation was received. Going forward, it is recommended that, in addition to receiving feedback from stakeholders, there is also monitoring by UEFA’s S&S unit to ensure that compliance is achieved during the planning process. To facilitate this, we recommend that for UCLFs, the government provide a designated state representative to participate in planning processes with a specific mandate to ensure interoperability with police and other state and local authorities. Indeed, this representative would act as a single point of contact (SPOC) for UEFA S&S and other partners.

Finally, the panel focused on UCLF22, but there is evidence that similar issues, particularly regarding policing and access for disabled supporters, are regularly experienced, albeit on a smaller scale, by fans attending other matches governed by UEFA. As per Recommendation 15, we recommend that UEFA and the Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee carefully examine their ability to apply some of the above recommendations more generally to avoid similar dangers developing outside the sole purview of the UCLF.