MANCHESTER, England (AP) — UEFA will compensate Liverpool fans who bought tickets for last season’s Champions League final, an event that erupted into scuffles outside the Stade de France and innocent fans were pepper sprayed and tear gassed.
European football’s governing body announced on Tuesday that a refund scheme had been put in place for 19,618 tickets bought by Liverpool fans for last May’s game against Real Madrid. The Spanish club won 1:0.
An independent investigation published last month found that UEFA was primarily responsible for the “catastrophic” security breach.
The investigative committee said in a 220-page document: “It is surprising that no one lost their lives.
Compensations are also paid to Real Madrid fans and neutral fans who meet certain criteria defined by UEFA.
UEFA General Secretary Theodor Theodoridis said: “We have taken into account the many views that have been expressed publicly and privately and we believe that we have developed a comprehensive and fair programme.” “We recognize the negative experience these fans had on the day and through this program we will provide compensation to those fans who purchased tickets and were most affected by difficulties entering the stadium.”
Tens of thousands of fans queued for hours ahead of the May 28 match at the 75,000-capacity Stade de France, the main venue for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Many fans were teargassed by police before the game, which was delayed by 40 minutes.
UEFA statements during the chaos and after the game wrongly accused Liverpool fans of arriving late to the stadium and using fake tickets to gain entry.
After the victory of Madrid, locals robbed dozens of fans leaving the stadium.
Theodoridis apologized to Liverpool fans for “the experience of many of them” and unfair accusations last month.
Football Supporters Europe welcomed the refund decision.
“Uefa’s announcement of ticket refunds is unprecedented and very welcome, and builds on its previous apology to Liverpool fans,” board member Kevin Miles said. FSE Board of Directors. “Any football fan who has traveled abroad to support a team, maybe Liverpool fans suffered last year, these incidents or something similar has happened to any of us.”
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James Robson at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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