A damning UEFA report into the Champions League Final in Paris states it was "remarkable" nobody lost their life.
A panel of experts was set up by UEFA last summer to investigate the appalling treatment of thousands of Liverpool fans who travelled to the Champions League Final against Real Madrid on May 28, 2022. Fans outside the Stade de France were tear gassed by riot police, crushed when trying to enter the stadium and mugged by armed gangs of locals.
UEFA has now finalised its conclusions, with the 158-page report being published. On page 10 of the report it states it was "remarkable that no one lost their life" and that there was "clear and immediate danger of a fatal crush".
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All the stakeholders interviewed by the panel agreed this situation was a near-miss: a term used when an event almost turns into a mass fatality catastrophe. The report also mentions the lies told by French Police and Authorities such as "fake tickets" being used and kick off being delayed due to "late arriving fans". Both points the panel rejected.
In one part of the report it mentions how police scrapped a security and safety model in favour of a "securitised approach" which was "inappropriately based on incorrect assumptions that Liverpool FC supporters posed significant threats to public order".
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said: “The leaks suggest that UEFA’s report vindicates what I and other fans have been saying all along: that is, it was the fans who averted a disaster and were clearly not to blame, whilst the organisers – UEFA and the French authorities - were really responsible.
“Fans who travelled to Paris expecting the night of their lives were put in harm’s way by the very people who are meant to protect them. They deserve a full and unreserved apology from authorities including UEFA President Alexander Ceferin.
“We will obviously need to wait to see the full findings of the report, but it has been suggested that those failings ‘almost led to a disaster’, which was narrowly avoided by the actions of fans. Lessons must be learned to ensure the safety of the venues chosen to host sporting spectacles. In addition, the organisation before, during and after the game – and the heavy-handed treatment of fans - was predicated on flawed intelligence and the inaccurate preconceptions and prejudices of the authorities.
"Perhaps the safety of fans will be a primary concern now, instead of financially driven decisions by football’s governing bodies.”
The ECHO is currently reading through the report and will bring you all the latest updates as we have them.
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