By Richard Martin
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – UEFA has apologised to Liverpool for initially blaming the Merseyside club’s fans for the chaos that unfolded before last year’s Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris, following the release of an independent review on Monday.
The match was delayed by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match on May 28, which the Spanish side won 1-0, while French police were filmed using tear gas on supporters.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA and French authorities at the time blamed the chaos on ticket fraud, although the review said there was no evidence to support such claims.
“On behalf of UEFA, I would like to apologise most sincerely once again to all those who were affected by the events that unfolded on what should have been a celebration at the pinnacle of the club season,” said UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis.
“In particular, I would like to apologise to the supporters of Liverpool FC for the experiences many of them had when attending the game and for the messages released prior to and during the game which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation leading to the delayed kick-off.”
The 220-page review followed an investigation chaired by Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, a member of Portugal’s parliament, and had a panel including legal, policing and event-management consultants as well as representatives from fan groups.
(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Ken Ferris)
