UEFA will REFUND all Liverpool fans for chaotic Champions League final in Paris last year

UEFA will REFUND all Liverpool fans at the chaotic Champions League final in Paris in £3.5MILLION pay-out for 19,618 Reds supporters who helped prevent a ‘mass fatality catastrophe’

UEFA had previously blamed Liverpool fans for trouble at last year’s final in Paris
But an independent report commissioned by UEFA cleared Reds supporters
Liverpool fan groups welcomed the decision by the European governing body

By Rob Draper for the Daily Mail

UEFA are refunding all Liverpool fans who attended the Champions League final in Paris last year in an unprecedented move that is likely to cost millions and which is a further acknowledgement of how far UEFA got the organisation of the show-piece event wrong.

An independent report commissioned by UEFA concluded that only the calmness of Liverpool fans prevented a ‘mass fatality catastrophe’ after UEFA were found to have sidelined safety and security, that French police behaved incompetently by firing tear gas into the crowd and that French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin inflated the numbers of ticketless fans ‘as an excuse to mask other failures’.

UEFA have already apologised and promised to implement recommendations in the report but this is the most substantive act of contrition and will cost Europe’s governing body millions of pounds.

A statement from the governing body read: ‘We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair.

‘We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organisations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA) as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period.

There were scenes of chaos as Liverpool fans struggled to get into the final in Paris last year

Liverpool fans were cleared of wrongdoing despite initially being held culpable by authorities

Liverpool fans protest against UEFA during their side’s match against Real Madrid last month

‘We recognise the negative experiences of those supporters on the day and with this scheme we will refund fans who had bought tickets and who were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.’

Many Liverpool fans are already suing UEFA in group actions and hundreds of fans with genuine tickets were refused admission either because of the chaos or because they were accused of having fake tickets because stewards were untrained and the scanning devices were faulty.

Top price tickets were €690 or £610 and cheapest were €70 or £62 meaning UEFA’s bill for the 19,618 tickets issued to Liverpool fans is likely to cost around £3.5million.

In a sign that UEFA appears to be shifting its stance, it has also paid tribute to Football Supporters Europe, than pan-European fans’ campaigning organisation and to Liverpool fans’ groups Spirit of Shankly and the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, both of whom campaigned on behalf of supporters caught up in the chaos.

In a statement those fans’ groups said: ‘Spirit of Shankly and the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association welcome today’s announcement from UEFA that they are to refund all Liverpool FC ticket holders who attended the Champions League final in Paris in May 22.

Supporters called on key UEFA officials to resign and accused French ministers of being liars

Liverpool supporters were hoping to see their team take on Real Madrid in last summer’s final

Kick-off was delayed for the game with the blame being put down to the late arrival of fans

‘This unprecedented move is the result of tireless work, alongside FSE and Ian Byrne MP, to hold those responsible for the catastrophic events in Paris,.

‘With a promise to reimburse supporters, UEFA have gone some way to acknowledging their part in the fiasco.

‘But it does not excuse UEFA, exempt them from criticism or lessen the need for them to implement all of the recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry.

‘We will work alongside LFC and publish details once we know how and when refunds will be processed.’

UEFA STATEMENT IN FULL

UEFA will implement a special refund scheme for fans who were most affected when accessing the Stade de France on 28 May 2022.

Refunds will be available to all fans with tickets for gates A, B, C, X, Y and Z where the most difficult circumstances were reported. In addition, all fans who according to the access control data did not enter the stadium before 21:00 CEST (the originally scheduled kickoff time), or who were not able to enter the stadium at all, will be eligible for a refund. Finally, UEFA will offer refunds to all fans who purchased accessibility tickets along with those of their accompanying persons.

Given these criteria, the special refund scheme covers all of the Liverpool FC ticket allocation for the Final, i.e. 19,618 tickets. Due to the nature of the original ticket sales process, whereby Liverpool fans purchased tickets from Liverpool FC and not directly from UEFA, UEFA has requested that the club implements the refunds to ensure personal data protection and for ease of process. The club has kindly confirmed that it will implement the special refund scheme.

Accordingly, UEFA will reimburse Liverpool FC the total value of these tickets and the club will then process the refunds to its supporters.

Refunds to fans of Real Madrid CF who meet the refund criteria will be processed based on the requests received from the ticket buyer via UEFA’s customer service. The same applies to neutral supporters who purchased tickets directly from UEFA and who are eligible for a refund.

We would also remind fans that, as announced by the Embassy of France in the United Kingdom, ticket holders who were victims of crimes committed in Paris may report their case to the relevant French authorities. The complaint form is available in English and can be accessed via this link and, once completed, should be posted to the French prosecutor using the address indicated in the document.

Commenting on the special refund scheme, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said:

‘We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair. We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organisations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA) as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period.

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