According to a revelation by a third party, Uefa is “mostly responsible” for the chaotic circumstances that “nearly resulted in calamity” before the Liverpool vs. Real Madrid Champions League final last year.
As kickoff was delayed by 36 minutes, spectators were surrounded and subjected to tear gas outside of Paris’ Stade de France.
Initial accusations of “industrial-scale” ticket fraud by Uefa and French police received harsh condemnation.
According to the report, the “reprehensible” statements are not supported by any “proof.”
The report, which Uefa commissioned after the 28 May final, indicates that “the panel has found that Uefa, as event owner, has major responsibility for failures which almost led to calamity.”
While other organizations “contributed wrong,” according to the conclusions, Uefa, the body that governs Europe, was “at the wheel.”
“To make sure everything functioned, Uefa should have had a monitoring and supervisory role [of security]. It obviously did not, “said the report.
Three days after the encounter in the French capital, which was the pinnacle of European club football and which Liverpool ultimately lost 1-0, Uefa requested the independent assessment.
The European governing body stated that a “full study” would look at a number of aspects, such as how everyone engaged in the final made decisions and acted responsibly.
Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, a politician from Portugal who served as the panel’s chair, was joined by specialists and consultants from the legal, policing, and event management industries as well as representatives from football fan organizations.
Theodore Theodoridis, general secretary of Uefa, sent a sincere apology on behalf of the organization to everyone who was negatively impacted by the events that occurred on what was supposed to be a festive occasion marking the end of the club season.
“In particular, I would want to apologise to Liverpool fans for the experiences many of them experienced during the game and for the statements released prior to and during the game that had the effect of unfairly blaming them for the circumstance leading to the delayed kick-off.”
