UEFA announced on Tuesday that it would reimburse all Liverpool fans who attended the chaotic Liverpool and Real Madrid competed in the 2017 Champions League final France in Paris.
The governing body of European football said that its refund policy would cover the almost 20,000 Liverpool tickets. The body indicated that the comprehensive independent report harshly criticized organizational flaws that "nearly led to calamity." published last month.
UEFA noted that refunds would be given where The most challenging circumstances are present. Available to all fans...," and "any ticket holders who did not enter the stadium before the initially scheduled kickoff.
"With these requirements, the special return system covers all of the 19,618 tickets that Liverpool FC was allotted for the final," the statement reads.
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On May 28, Real's 1-0 victory at France's national stadium was surpassed by the goings-on outside. The game started 37 minutes late due to fans' difficulties entering the stadium as police forced them into jam-packed jams as they approached.
Although thousands of Liverpool supporters had been detained for hours outside the stadium before kickoff, UEFA attempted to blame their tardy arrival.
Fans remained "fearing for their lives" amid a "maelstrom of turmoil and terror," according to a prominent Liverpool supporters' organization called Spirit of Shankly.
According to the French authorities, the issue was "industrial scale fraud" using bogus tickets.
According to a July Senate investigation in France, poorly implemented security measures were the root of the chaos.
"UEFA, as event owner, has primary responsibility for failures which almost led to calamity," the independent assessment stated".
Theodore Theodoridis, general secretary of UEFA, said, "We have taken into account a significant number of views voiced both publicly and privately, and we believe we have established a thorough and fair structure.
We acknowledge the unfavourable experiences of those spectators on the day, and we will reimburse ticket holders who were the most negatively impacted by the stadium's access issues.
The English team issued a concise statement in which it stated: "This is a UEFA refund policy, not a Liverpool FC policy.
The club's responsibility as the match's ticket agent is to handle UEFA's directive to issue refunds to eligible fans who purchased tickets through LFC.
Before hosting the Rugby World Cup this year and the Olympic Games in 2024, both of which will feature events at the Stade de France, images of final damaged France's reputation for hosting critical sporting events.
