UEFA has announced it will issue refunds to all Liverpool fans who attended last May’s Champions League final in Paris.
The match against Real Madrid was delayed by 36 minutes amid chaotic scenes of fan congestion outside Stade de France.
Police teargassed sections of Liverpool fans, many of whom ended up in dangerously overcrowded areas as they attempted to reach the stadium. Several fans had to be hospitalized.
Those scenes were followed by Liverpool fans themselves taking the blame from UEFA and French officials, who said that fans with fake tickets were responsible for the overcrowding.
But last month an independent report commissioned by UEFA exonerated Liverpool fans, saying that UEFA and the French authorities must take “primary responsibility” for a situation that could have turned out much worse.
“It is remarkable that no one lost their life,” the report said. “All the stakeholders interviewed by the panel have agreed that this situation was a near-miss: a term used when an event almost turns into a mass fatality catastrophe.”
The report even said Liverpool fans should have been thanked rather than blamed, calling them: “instrumental in protecting vulnerable people and averting what might well have been more serious injuries and deaths.”
In a statement, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said the refunds came after input from Liverpool fans.
“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,” Theodoridis said.
“We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organizations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA) as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period. We recognize 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.”
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