This is a new episode in the affair of the 2022 Champions League final at the Stade de France and the incidents which delayed the final. Filed by the firm Leigh Day with the Liverpool court, the complaint targets UEFA, named in February by an independent report as the main culprit in the incidents “which almost led to disaster”. Two other law firms, representing nearly 2,000 other supporters, had also announced their intention to sue UEFA.
Leigh Day believes that by failing to provide a safe and peaceful environment for spectators, UEFA could be held legally responsible for injuries or psychological harm suffered by Reds fans. Endless waiting, supporters and families sprayed with tear gas or victims of theft… The law enforcement system during this final, delayed by 37 minutes and won by Real Madrid (1-0), had given rise to scenes of chaos in Saint-Denis, provoking a lively controversy in France and England. UEFA and the French authorities had initially pointed the finger at England fans, accusing them of arriving late at the stadium and of having massively presented falsified tickets.
The independent investigation had swept away 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. In mid-March, in a podcast hosted by former Manchester United player Gary Neville, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, re-elected on Wednesday for 4 years at the head of the institution, said he was “sorry” for what had happened. “Believe me, there is not a person at UEFA who is not terribly sorry (…) Thank God, nothing dramatic had happened”, he had estimated. A few days earlier, UEFA had announced that it would reimburse all the tickets of English supporters, a gesture considered insufficient by the three law firms.