Champions League 2022
Status: 02/14/2023 10:59 am
An independent investigation concludes UEFA was to blame for what happened at the Champions League final.
UEFA bears “main responsibility” for the chaos surrounding the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool (1-0) last May. This is the result of an independent study commissioned by the European Football Association itself.
As the organizer of the event, UEFA is responsible for the mistakes that “almost led to its catastrophe,” according to the report from Monday (February 12, 2023). “It is remarkable that no one has lost their life,” the 220-page paper continues.
The final on May 28, 2022 started 37 minutes late because of chaotic scenes in front of the stadium in Saint-Denis. Around 2,700 fans did not come into the arena despite valid tickets, and long queues had formed in front of the entrances to the Liverpool FC fan blocks. There was a great crush in crowded bottlenecks. The police used tear gas. In all, 238 were injured and 105 arrested.
Police and UEFA initially blamed Liverpool fans who arrived late and often tried to enter the stadium with fake tickets.
Independent French and British investigative reports had already proven the misconduct of the authorities and UEFA last year. As a result, the Paris police prefect, Didier Lallement, resigned from his post in July.
Many fans were reminded of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 fans died. Back then, too, Liverpool supporters had been wrongly blamed.
UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis once again apologized to all those affected on behalf of UEFA. “I would particularly like to apologize to the Liverpool fans for the news that was released before and during the game which had the effect of unfairly blaming them for the situation,” said Theodoridis.
The results would now be analyzed, said UEFA on Monday evening. In addition, a refund for the fans is being worked on.