March 25 – A group of Liverpool fans have been awarded compensation by UEFA after claiming they were injured or left with psychological trauma in chaotic scenes at the 2022 Champions League final.
A civil legal claim has been agreed with a “full and final settlement”, UEFA said, adding details would remain confidential.
Last year, an independent report found UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the failures which almost led to European club football’s showpiece match becoming a “mass fatality catastrophe”.
Severe congestion outside the Stade de France in Paris led to thousands of Liverpool supporters being hemmed in against perimeter fences and stuck in a motorway underpass ahead of the final, which they lost 1-0 to Real Madrid.
Fans, who had already been targeted by local youths trying to steal tickets, were then tear-gassed and pepper sprayed by police, with kick-off delayed by more than 30 minutes.
UEFA said on Friday it made a “full and final settlement” with fans represented by two law firms in Liverpool “in relation to the difficulties and challenges that they were confronted with.”
“The settlement agreement has been made without any admission of liability,” UEFA added.
“UEFA has already taken a number of steps following the 2022 final, including implementing recommendations from the independent review and establishing a special refund scheme.”
“The parties have agreed the terms of this statement but that the terms of the settlement will otherwise remain confidential.”
For many Liverpool fans the scenes rekindled memories of the fatal crush at Hillsborough before and during the abandoned 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest that resulted in the deaths of 97 supporters.
Falsely blaming Liverpool fans for arriving late was hugely insensitive, as the same excuse was used by police and authorities in England to evade responsibility for the Hillsborough stadium tragedy.
The law firms in Liverpool, Pogust Goodhead and Bingham Long, said UEFA’s offer of compensation “has been accepted and the supporters welcome this.”
“Following constructive discussions, UEFA has offered our clients compensation in respect of the difficulties and challenges they were confronted with at the game,” the legal firms said, adding they would not take fees from the compensation paid.
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