The European Football Association (UEFA) investigation blamed the chaos that occurred before the 2022 European Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid and revealed “many fatal mistakes that almost led to a disaster.”
UEFA apologized to Liverpool for initially blaming its fans for the chaos, following the disclosure of the results of an independent investigation on Monday.
The kick-off was delayed for 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool fans failed to enter the Stade de France before the match on May 28, which the Spanish side won 1-0, during which French policemen were seen firing tear gas at fans, including women and children.
UEFA and French authorities said at the time that the chaos was caused by fake tickets, although the investigation said there was no evidence to support the allegations.
Thiago Brandao Rodriguez, a member of the Portuguese parliament who led the investigation, said the final match “will remind everyone of the suffering that many fans have been subjected to and should be a motivation for us not to repeat these scenes again in any sporting event in Europe or anywhere in the world.”
“Avoiding disasters in the future and developing the service provided in football events was the aim of this review,” he added, after a 220-page review that was supervised by a committee that includes law and police experts, as well as representatives of the public.
UEFA Secretary General Theodor Theodoridis said: “On behalf of UEFA, I would like to once again apologize to all those affected by these events, which occurred at a time when everyone should have been celebrating the end of the season.
“In particular, I would like to apologize to Liverpool fans for the experiences many of them went through when attending the match and for the statements made before and during the match that unjustly held them responsible.”
Liverpool expressed its disappointment at not having obtained a copy of the report before it was leaked to British media hours before it was officially released.
“We are extremely disappointed that a report of this importance to the lives and safety of fans was leaked and published in this way,” the club said in a statement.
“It is a significant effort of eight months of independent investigation and it is fitting that the content of the report has been appropriately published to our audiences.”
Reuters
