According to an independent investigation, the European football union Uefa is primarily responsible for the spectator chaos surrounding the Champions League final in May 2022 near Paris. “It is remarkable that nobody lost their lives,” says the 220-page report, which was published on Monday evening and also criticized the behavior of the authorities. Uefa, as the organizer of the final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid (0-1), is primarily responsible for the organizational errors, “which almost led to a catastrophe”.
The police used tear gas and pepper spray.
(Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty)
The game on May 28th started more than half an hour late because of chaotic scenes in front of the stadium in Saint-Denis. Despite tickets, many spectators did not come into the huge arena. The police used tear gas, more than 230 people were injured.
As a result, the Paris police prefect Didier Lallement resigned his post. Other investigations also proved the misconduct of the authorities and Uefa, which initially also blamed supporters of Liverpool FC. Uefa commissioned the current investigation report itself, and the umbrella organization also bears the costs. The results would now be analyzed. In addition, a refund for the fans is being worked on, as the association announced.
Uefa general secretary apologizes to Liverpool fans
“On behalf of Uefa, I would like to once again sincerely apologize to all those who were affected,” said Uefa Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis. “In particular, I would like to apologize to Liverpool fans for the experience many of them have had attending the game and for the messages released before and during the game that they were wrongly blamed. “
Liverpool FC welcomed the findings of the investigation, in which the Reds fans would be “fully exonerated”. “We call on Uefa to implement the recommendations (…) – no matter how difficult it gets – to ensure that the safety of the fans is the top priority at every Uefa game,” said the club on Tuesday.