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UEFA will refund all Liverpool supporters’ tickets to the 2022 Champions League final after a probe determined that a series of organizational failings “nearly led to a calamity” outside the Stade de France.
The refund plan covers the whole Liverpool allotment of 19,618 tickets, with fans receiving the full cost of their ticket back from European football’s governing body, with prices ranging from £59.40 to £585.70 for a seat at the incident-plagued final in Paris last May.
Liverpool was active in the process that led to this decision, and they had an early effect on talks.
Once tear gas was fired at their fans at random, the payment was made. Yet UEFA and the French government first traced them to that, which got thousands into the stadium before the game.
Both eventually rebutted such charges, with a UEFA-commissioned assessment later applauding their actions and stating that the two governing organizations’ organizational shortcomings might have had devastating effects.
The 38-minute delay in the championship game, which Real Madrid won 1-0, is due to a “security concern”. The stadium’s fans got the information about the delay.
In February, UEFA apologized to Liverpool and promised “a unique return mechanism for fans,” which the organization then confirmed on Tuesday.
The right to payment also extends to Real Madrid supporters who fail to arrive at the stadium at all or before the official kickoff time.
UEFA and officials statement
Theodore Theodoridis, general secretary of UEFA, stated: “We have considered a large number of public and private comments, and we feel we have developed a complete and fair structure.
“We appreciate the contributions of Liverpool FC fan organizations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA), as well as the open and honest communication that has occurred during this period.
“We recognize the poor experiences of those supporters on the day, and with this plan, we will repay people who purchased tickets and were the most impacted by the stadium’s accessibility issues.”
Spirit of Shankly hailed the announcement, adding in a statement that UEFA had “gone some way to acknowledge its involvement in the debacle”.
“But, it does not absolve UEFA of criticism or diminish the need of implementing all of the Independent Inquiry’s recommendations,” they said.
