UEFA announced this Tuesday that it will launch a special repayment plan for the fans who were most affected by the violent incidents and the crowds at the access to the Stade de France to witness the last final of the Champions League, last May 28, 2022 in Paris. Among them, beyond neutral fans and other attendees, no specific Real Madrid fans have been identified, but there are 19,618 del Liverpool.
Refunds will be available to all fans with tickets for the gates A, B, C, X, Y and Z, under the most difficult circumstances, with tens of thousands of invaders from the Parisian suburb of St Denis attacking the fans with a ticket to steal it, mercilessly beating anyone who got in his way, and mocking, ignoring and also attacking the security of the venue, which was overwhelmed.
Such was the commotion that day that the final was postponed for more than half an hour, while the ‘network’ fans, the most affected, remembered with sadness and bitterness dramatic episodes such as that of Hillsboroughwhere 96 Liverpool supporters were killed. There were no fatalities on this occasion.but a large part of the ‘red’ fans were deprived of access to the stadium, and had to give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
They will also be entitled to compensation spectators who could not directly enter the fieldaccording to the access control data before 9:00 p.m., which was when the game was scheduled to start, which resulted in the victory of Real Madrid, and all the people who purchased accessibility tickets along with those of their companions.
The return criteria cover Liverpool’s entire ticket allocation, a total of 19,618, and how Liverpool fans purchased tickets directly from the club UEFA has asked him to apply the refunds to guarantee the protection of personal data and to facilitate the process.
According to UEFA, the English club has confirmed that it will apply the special refund system and therefore UEFA will give Liverpool the full value of these tickets so that the club can process refunds to its fans. Refunds to Real Madrid supporters who meet the criteria will be processed based on requests received from the ticket purchaser, via UEFA customer service.
This system will apply equally to neutral fans who purchased tickets directly from UEFA and are entitled to a refund. UEFA recalled that, as announced by the French embassy in the United Kingdom, ticket holders who have been victims of crimes committed in Paris can report their case to the competent French authoritiesand included on its website the link to complete the complaint form for the French prosecutor’s office at the address indicated in the document.
The UEFA General Secretary, Theodore Theodoridispointed out that a large number of opinions expressed both publicly and privately have been taken into account for this reimbursement plan and considered that has “devised a system that is complete and fair”.
“We value the contributions of the Liverpool supporters’ organisations, as well as the open and transparent dialogue maintained throughout this period. We acknowledge the negative experiences of those fans that day. and with this plan we will refund fans who had purchased tickets and were the most affected due to difficulties in accessing the stadium,” he added in a statement.
The final, in which Real Madrid won their 14th Champions League title against Liverpool, suffered a delay of more than half an hour initially due to the retentions at the entrance to the stadium, since, according to the French authorities, 35,000 people attended the venue without tickets or with false locations and disturbed public order by blocking the doors and preventing access to fans with legal seats.
During the incidents, in which supporters of both clubs were robbed and assaulted, law enforcement officers used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. According to the French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmaninnails 110,000 people showed up at the field, when there were only 75,000 tickets.
An independent report on the facts, prepared by a commission of experts, lawyers and representatives of fan associations, concluded that the French authorities were negligentthat all those responsible made mistakes and the fans were exposed to great physical danger, without any evidence as to the guilt of the spectators in the incidents.
