Uefa has “primary responsibility” for the failings at the Champions League final in Paris which involved Liverpool fans being teargassed without reason and “almost led to a disaster”, an independent commission has found, reports The Times.
The review, commissioned by Uefa and seen by The Times before its official release, says that the European governing body also says the French police and the French Football Federation (FFF) also “bear responsibility” for the failings. There was also “no Plan B” to deal with the challenges that arose.
Tens of thousands of Liverpool fans faced difficulties in accessing the Stade de France for the final against Real Madrid on May 28 last year, caused by failures in the ticketing process, planning, signage and bottlenecks, with French riot police responding by using tear gas, often indiscriminately. Kick-off was delayed by 37 minutes but large numbers of supporters were still outside the stadium when it started.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Liverpool called on Uefa “to come together and take positive and transparent action to ensure there are no more ‘near misses’ ”, imploring the governing body to enact the report’s recommendations “no matter how difficult”. The club also condemned “shocking false narratives peddled in the immediate aftermath of that night in Paris”, referencing a French senate report that exonerated Liverpool supporters.
The report’s executive summary reads: “The dangerous conditions on the concourse outside the turnstiles were compounded by the police deploying tear gas at disorderly groups of locals, as well as using pepper spray on supporters trying to gain entrance with valid tickets. It is remarkable that no one lost their life.”