UEFA reimburses Liverpool fans for Champions League final tickets

UEFA announced on Tuesday it would refund all Liverpool supporters’ tickets for the 2022 Champions League final after an assessment found a catalog of organizational failures ‘near disaster’ outside the Stade de France.

The reimbursement scheme will cover Liverpool’s entire budget – 19,618 tickets – with supporters reimbursed by European football’s governing body for the full cost of the ticket, with prices ranging from £59.40 to £585.70 per a place in the final affected by the accident in Paris last May .

Liverpool were involved in the process leading up to this decision and influenced the discussions from the outset.

The payback comes after their supporters were indiscriminately teargassed, causing crushing around the stadium before the match, but were initially blamed for causing the riots by UEFA and the French government.

Both later backtracked on those claims in a UEFA-commissioned report in which they later praised their behavior and said that the two governing bodies’ organizational failures could have catastrophic consequences.

Also…

Liverpool can replace Roberto Firmino with $49m duo as Jurgen Klopp finds two new ‘connectors’

Cody Gakpo is set to become Liverpool’s new Roberto Firmino, but another man could do much of the work as Jurgen Klopp’s ‘liaison’.

Roberto Firmino has been in charge of Liverpool’s attacking side of the game since 2016. A smart and cultured technician, he has proven comfortable picking up the ball in tight spaces.

Firmino is a master at holding the ball when under pressure and he provides a sort of glue to those around him in the final third. The Brazil international strikes up a dialogue with his deeper teammates, opening up valuable spaces for his quick allies – like Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez – to capitalize and maximize. Firmino is almost a midfielder by nature. He enjoys drifting out of the box, linking up with others in crowded areas and creating gaps to cause opponents problems, having been dubbed a ‘connector’ by Klopp in the past.

“Anyone who knows football knows how important it is,” Klopp said about two years ago. “I’m pretty sure people will write books about how he performed the false nine position. I wouldn’t say he made them up, but the way he plays them, it feels like it.”

The 31-year-old reunites on Merseyside this summer after eight years. His contract is over and the South American decides to end his career at Liverpool by changing clubs at the end of the season.

Klopp is tasked with replacing his sole presence and he seemed destined to do so, using Cody Gakpo, who arrived from PSV Eindhoven in the January transfer window as a new signing.

The Dutchman is still a work in progress as Firmino’s heir but he could be joined in his quest by another Reds player. On Sunday afternoon, Klopp offered a glimpse of a second player who could shoulder much of the burden as Liverpool hedge against losing their special number nine.

Ahead of his side’s heavyweight fight against Manchester United, the German manager was asked about his decision to include Harvey Elliott in his starting lineup. In his reasoning, Klopp branded the young starlet a “connection player,” which could be associated with Firmino’s “connection” tag.

While Elliott doesn’t occupy the same forward position on the court, he seems able to see the big picture and connect the game to his precise control and intelligent decisions on the ball.

In Liverpool’s stunning 7-0 win over the Red Devils, no player on the pitch racked up more progressive passes than Elliott, who was leading alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold. He also assisted in the second goal of the match, trailing only Salah and Andy Robertson for passes completed in the penalty area.

Elliott also ranked second in progressive passes receiving, behind only Salah. Despite playing in central midfield with the likes of Casemiro, the 19-year-old has been a constant passing option for those around him.

Still a teenager, speculating about what Elliott could become at age 25 is an exciting prospect. With Gakpo also just 23, the $49m (£41m/€46m) duo could ensure Liverpool won’t suffer without Firmino, who will perform as an unlikely duo at Anfield for most of next season. decade.