Uefa has promised to open a “special refund scheme for fans” who attended last season’s Champions League final, responding to the damning findings of the report it commissioned into the events in Paris in May last.
The report found that Uefa bears “primary responsibility” for the catastrophic organizational and safety failures that turned the final into a horrific, traumatic experience for thousands of Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters.
Related: ‘Watched’: what Liverpool and Real Madrid fans told the Uefa panel
European football’s governing body did not provide details of the refund scheme but it is likely that it could refund the cost of the match tickets. General admission tickets to the Stade de France ranged from €70 to €690.
Access to fans was delayed, traffic jams, traffic jams, turnstiles closed, brutal policing and criminal attacks by local groups. “The panel concluded that Uefa, as the owner of the event, bears the primary responsibility for failures that led to the near disaster,” says the report, which also criticized the French police and the French football federation .
Uefa said they would announce the refund scheme separately. In a statement, he did not say he accepted the panel’s findings, saying they were “analyzing” them “and assessing them against their own analysis of the organization of the event and the facts surrounding it”. Uefa also said they were “reviewing the panel’s recommendations” to introduce appropriate changes and arrangements to ensure the highest level of safety for fans at future finals.
In comments issued with the statement, Theodore Theodoridis, Uefa’s general secretary, said: “On behalf of Uefa, I would like to once again offer my sincere apologies to all those who have been disturbed by the events that took place in what should have been a celebration on them. at the peak of the club season.
“In particular, I would like to apologize to Liverpool FC supporters for the experience many of them had when attending the match and for the messages issued before and during the match which unfairly blamed them because of the subsequent situation. the kick-off delay.
“UEFA is committed to learning from the events of 28 May, and will work closely with supporter groups, the leading clubs, host associations and local authorities to deliver world-class finals that can be enjoyed by all the game in a safe, secure and welcoming environment.”
Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool city region, said: “The Uefa report confirms what I and other fans have been saying for a long time: that it was the fans who avoided disaster and they were clearly not to blame, and the organizers – Uefa and the French authorities – they were really responsible.”