Almost a year after the Champions League final fiasco, nearly 900 Liverpool fans have decided to attack UEFA.
By NJ with AFP
© THOMAS COEX / AFP
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C’is a night that is considered one of the worst for Liverpool fans. After the chaos that reigned around the Stade de France, on the occasion of the Champions League final, on Saturday May 28, 2022, 887 English supporters who were victims of serious incidents decided to file a collective complaint via a London law firm. A total of 1,076 clients are represented by this firm.
The complaint targets UEFA, named in February by an independent investigation as the main culprit in the incidents “which almost led to disaster”. But they are not the only ones who want to bring this case to justice. Two other law firms, representing nearly 2,000 other supporters, had also announced their intention to sue UEFA.
UEFA’s “primary responsibility”
Leigh Day, spokesperson for the firm, believes that by failing to provide a safe and peaceful environment for spectators, UEFA could be held legally liable for injuries or psychological harm suffered by Reds fans. Endless waiting, supporters and families sprayed with tear gas, victims of robbery… The arrangements for maintaining order during this final, delayed by 37 minutes, had provoked a lively controversy in France and England. And reminded the Liverpuldiens of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 supporters lost their lives in 1989.READ ALSOStade de France: the Senate points to “a series of dysfunctions”
Initially, UEFA and the French authorities had blamed the English, accusing them of arriving late at the stadium and of having massively presented falsified tickets. But the independent report had swept aside these accusations, denouncing the “primary responsibility” of UEFA or that of the French Football Federation (FFF), as well as the “misconceptions” of the French police.
“Believe me, there is not a person at UEFA who is not terribly sorry […] Thank God, nothing dramatic had happened, ”said Aleksander Ceferin, head of the European body. He had offered English supporters to reimburse their ticket, a gesture deemed insufficient by the three law firms.