A London law firm has filed a collective complaint on behalf of 887 Liverpool supporters who were victims of serious incidents around the Stade de France on the sidelines of the last Champions League final, reported on Wednesday April 5, the English agency PA .
The complaint, filed by the law firm Leigh Day with the Liverpool court, targets the Union of European Football Associations (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, the organization could be held liable for injuries or psychological harm suffered by Reds fans.
Endless wait, supporters and families sprayed with tear gas or victims of theft… The law enforcement system during the final of May 28, 2022, delayed by thirty-seven 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 the United Kingdom.
The British first singled out
UEFA and the French authorities had initially pointed the finger at British fans, accusing them of arriving late at the stadium and of having massively presented falsified tickets. The independent investigation dismissed these accusations, denouncing the “primary responsibility” of UEFA, or that of the French Football Federation, 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 four years at the head of the institution, said to himself ” 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 British supporters, a gesture considered insufficient by the three law firms.