Champions League final: Liverpool want UEFA to implement report recommendations ‘in a comprehensive and transparent manner’

Liverpool want UEFA to comply “fully and transparently” with the recommendations of an independent report into the events leading up to last season’s Champions League final in Paris.

During the match against Real Madrid on May 28, 2022, supporters were parked in front of the Stade de France and gassed with tears.

The report deemed UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the chaotic scenes, adding it was “remarkable” that no one died.

Liverpool said action needed to be taken ‘to ensure there are no more near misses’.

The club added that the “fundamental failings in security” had “added” the suffering of families, friends and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. “We implore UEFA to fully implement the panel’s recommendations – difficult as they are – to ensure that fan safety is at the heart of every UEFA game of football,” Liverpool said.

The report, commissioned by UEFA three days after the final which Liverpool lost 1-0, made 21 recommendations to ensure ‘everything is done’ to prevent a similar incident at a major sporting event from happening. hinders it.

The recommendations include only the use of digital tickets and UEFA ensuring its own security service has “primary responsibility” for Champions League final operations.

He also warned French authorities that it should be a “wake-up call” ahead of hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.

‘Shocking false accounts’ after ‘Catastrophe’ finale

UEFA and French authorities initially blamed ticketless Liverpool fans for the events, but the report released on Monday said there was “no evidence” to back up the “reprehensible” claims. He added that the collective action by Liverpool fans was “probably instrumental” in preventing “more serious injuries and deaths” outside the stadium.

“Shocking false stories were spread soon after that night in Paris, stories which have since been totally debunked,” Liverpool said.

The French Senate’s independent report released in July 2022 found that Liverpool fans were wrongly and falsely blamed for the chaotic scenes to divert attention from the real organizational failures.

“The independent Senate report also released 15 recommendations for improvements. To date, no action has been taken on these recommendations.”

For many Liverpool fans, the incident and the subsequent attempt to blame the fans brought back painful memories of the Hillsborough disaster. Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died in the April 1989 disaster at Sheffield Wednesday stadium where supporters were crushed by overcrowding at Leppings Lane which ended during an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

“It is shocking that more than 30 years after the Hillsborough disaster, every club and our fan base is subjected to such fundamental safety deficiencies that have had such a devastating impact on so many,” the club added.

“But even more troubling is the realization that for Hillsborough’s families, friends and survivors, Paris has only exacerbated their suffering.

“Our thoughts go out to all our fans who have suffered as a result of Paris and we want to remind them of the mental health care we provided in the days following the disaster that was the UEFA Champions League final in Paris.”

What was the reaction?

The report was released around an hour before Liverpool’s home win against Merseyside rivals Everton on Monday. The results were due to be released on Tuesday, but details of the investigation’s findings were reported by a number of media organizations on Monday.

Liverpool said they did not receive a copy of the report until they saw the stories in the media.

On Tuesday, Liverpool supporters group Spirit of Shankly said they joined Liverpool in welcoming the report’s findings into the “horrible situations” that have unfolded in Paris.

“What should have been the highlight of the season for traveling Liverpool and Real Madrid fans – in UEFA’s words, a ‘celebration of football’ – turned out to be a maelstrom of chaos and alarm, leading some supporters to surround his dreaded life,” the group said.

“The blame started even before a ball was kicked and immediately afterwards those suspected to be responsible – UEFA and the authorities – were quick to point the finger at the fans.”

He added that he expected an apology from European football’s governing body “for the lies and slander that UEFA so quickly directed at the fans, without which their competition and their showcase final would be nothing”. Speaking to LBC, the deputy mayor of Paris, Pierre Rabadan, said the organization of the final had been “done too quickly”.

He was transferred to the French capital in February 2022 after Russia was deprived of the game following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The organization probably went too fast, we can say that today. It usually takes around ten months for the organization to organize a Champions League final,” said Rabadan.

“Everything was organized here in the last two months before the events. You could say they made mistakes.”

Amanda Jacks, Football Supporters’ Association Policing and Records Manager, said of the report: “This is a complete exoneration for the Liverpool fans who have been scolded by those responsible for this fiasco for to cover up their own mistakes.

“The committee has made it clear to UEFA that this report should be taken seriously and should not gather dust in a drawer.”

More than 2,000 Liverpool fans who claim to have been injured or suffered mental trauma after the final are part of a class action lawsuit against UEFA seeking damages.

Tony Winterburn, of law firm Pogust Goodhead, which is co-leading the case, said: “An apology is a start, but it just doesn’t go far enough.

“We want our customers, along with all other fans who have been proven innocent, to compensate for the psychological and physical trauma they suffered that day and the trauma they suffered after the event when the authorities kept blaming them at the door even though I knew it wasn’t true.”

A Football Association spokesperson said: “We welcome the findings of the very detailed and thorough report and are delighted that Liverpool supporters have been praised for their exemplary behavior at night – behavior which has saved lives.

“The reports contain important recommendations relating to everyone involved in the staging of major footballing events and positive steps must be taken to ensure this never happens again.”

Labour’s shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said: “The lessons have to be learned. This was a ‘near miss’ of a much more fatal situation. It just didn’t happen. produced because of fan actions.”