Uefa to reimburse fans caught up in Champions League final chaos
Madrid, Mar 7 (EFE).- Uefa will issue refunds to fans who struggled to get into the Stade de France in Paris for last season’s Champions League final, European soccer’s governing body said Tuesday.
The announcement comes after a recent independent report found Uefa bore “primary responsibility” for the chaotic scenes that unfolded outside the stadium and “almost led to disaster,” saying it is “remarkable no one lost their life.”
Kick-off for the final on May 28, 2022 was delayed by over half an hour as fans – many of whom had tickets – were refused entry to the stadium and were tear-gassed by French police, as well as being attacked and robbed by local gangs.
According to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, some 110,000 people showed up at the ground, when only 75,000 tickets were available.
Uefa and French authorities initially blamed supporters who did not have tickets for the chaos, claims which the independent report dismissed as baseless and “reprehensible.”
In addition to Uefa being primarily responsible, the report also accused the French authorities of negligence.
Uefa General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said the body had devised a refund scheme that is “comprehensive and fair,” adding that Uefa “values 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.
“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,” he said. EFE
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