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The entity issued a statement in which it regretted the organizational problems that led to “chilling and distressing events” on the eve of the definition between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Stade de France in Paris and announced an independent review to establish responsibilities.
The governing body of European football, UEFA, apologized to the fans for the events that preceded the dispute of the Champions League final on Saturday May 28 at the Stade de France, during which the police violently attacked fans who they were attempting to enter the facility in Saint Denis.
UEFA wishes to sincerely apologize to all spectators who had to experience or witness frightening and distressing events in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League final last week.
An independent review will seek to establish a full picture of what occurred.
Full details: ⬇️
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 3, 2022
“No football fan should be put in that situation and it should not happen again,” says a statement published by the entity, announcing the establishment of a commission headed by the Portuguese Thiago Brandao Rodrigues, and made up of experts, which will have the mission of making an independent review, “to identify deficiencies and responsibilities of all the entities involved in the organization of the final”.
The opening whistle of the final between Real Madrid and Liverpool was delayed for more than half an hour, while riot police tried to prevent the disorderly entry of fans into the stadium, in some cases pepper spraying children and adults.
Responsibilities point beyond the fans
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had initially blamed the outrages on Liverpool fans, many of whom tried to enter the stadium under the influence of alcohol and in a hostile attitude, although he later acknowledged that the police were taken by surprise by a hundred “local criminals”, who caused the riots.
However, Darmanin himself denounced on Monday a “massive, industrial and organized fraud of false tickets”, adding that between 30,000 and 40,000 fans tried to enter the stadium “without tickets or with forged tickets”.
In fact, according to Darmanin, it was possible to detect that 70% of the tickets that were presented at the first checkpoint were falsified, as well as 15% of those that exceeded that alcabala.
Immediate refund for cheated fans
French President Emmanuel Macron told local media on Friday that fans who were unable to enter the stadium on May 28, even though they had purchased a ticket, should receive “a refund as soon as possible.”
“I am thinking of the families who were pushed, who were unable to access the seats they had paid for. That is why I hope we can compensate them as soon as possible,” Macron said. “I have asked the government to clarify what happened, to determine the responsibilities and to explain in detail to our compatriots, the British and the Spanish,” he added.
With Reuters and EFE
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