UEFA have belated offered an apology for the chaos and disorder that was allowed to erupt and destroy last week’s Champions League final.
It had taken six days for Europe’s governing body to acknowledge that there has been gross mismanagement at the game between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the Stade de France but they finally moved to address an issue that has become political in nature.
Liverpool have been outraged by the accusations that have been thrown their way from the French government and it is doubtful that the grovelling words that came from UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon on Friday night will cut any ice with them.
But UEFA – who have promised an independent review into what happened before and after their showpiece fixture – did attempt to recognise that Liverpool supporters had been put in a number of situations that threatened their safety.
The statement said: ‘UEFA wishes to sincerely apologise to all spectators who had to experience or witness frightening and distressing events in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France on 28 May 2022 in Paris, on a night which should have been a celebration of European club football.
UEFA has ‘sincerely’ apologised to all fans affected by the chaotic events on Saturday
European football’s governing body announced that it had launched an independent review into the events that took place outside the Stade de France before and after the match
French police fired tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters outside the stadium
‘No football fan should be put in that situation, and it must not happen again. To that end, immediately after the events, UEFA commissioned an Independent Review to identify shortcomings and responsibilities of all entities involved in the organisation of the final.’
The independent review will be led by Dr Tiago Brandao Rodrigues to understand what happened in the build up to the game and why so many people were in such jeopardy; UEFA are understandably fearful of a repeat happening at a future event.
What UEFA cannot escape, however, is that they failed both Liverpool and Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants, who lifted the trophy after winning 1-0, issued a statement of their own on Friday to condemn what they described as ‘shambolic organisation’ in Saint-Denis.
Access issues at the stadium saw thousands of supporters being crushed outside the ground
Sportsmail continues to learn about horrific stories, many of which are now centred around the frightening events after the final whistle when gangs of local men chased defenceless supporters with knives and mugged them, stealing bags, wallets and watches.
All the while, the police – who had been trigger happy in terms of spraying teargas and pepper spray at fans – stood back and did nothing. It is little wonder that Liverpool are so disgusted that their fans have been labelled for causing the problems by turning up without tickets.
Reg White, an expert in ticket fraud, told Sportsmail: ‘One thing I can tell you from the extensive video footage I’ve seen is that if the Liverpool fans hadn’t been so chilled out and well behaved as they were, you would have had people dead or seriously injured. There would have been stampedes and public order offences.’
‘They would have fought back against the police and there is no evidence of that whatsoever. It is quite the opposite. If they hadn’t been so well behaved – particularly in that underpass – I think you would have seen a disaster.’
Additionally, Sir Kenny Daglish took to Twitter to respond to UEFA’s statement. He said: ‘This is a start, but there is still a long way to go.
‘This apology does’t cover the false message about the late kick off, events at the fan park, or what happened in the aftermath.
‘If you haven’t already, please make sure to share your story on the LFC Forum & with Phil Scraton.’
