MANCHESTER, England: UEFA will refund Liverpool fans who bought tickets for last season’s Champions League final, an event which led to crushes outside the Stade de France and innocent supporters being doused with pepper spray and tear gas.
The governing body of European soccer said Tuesday that a scheme has been set up to reimburse all 19,618 tickets purchased by Liverpool fans for the match against Real Madrid last May. The Spanish club won 1-0.
An independent review published last month found UEFA mostly responsible for the security failures which “almost led to disaster.”
“It is remarkable that no one lost their life,” the investigation panel wrote in a 220-page document.
Refunds will also be paid out to Real Madrid supporters and neutral fans who meet certain criteria set out by UEFA.
“We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair,” UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said. “We recognize the negative experiences of those supporters on the day and with this scheme we will refund fans who had bought tickets and who were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.”
Tens of thousands of fans were held in increasingly crushed queues for hours before the game on May 28 at the 75,000-capacity Stade de France, which is a key venue for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Many fans were fired on with tear gas by police before the game, which was delayed by nearly 40 minutes.
UEFA statements during the chaos and after the game wrongly blamed Liverpool fans for arriving at the stadium late and using fake tickets to try to gain entry.
After Madrid’s victory, dozens of fans were robbed leaving the stadium by local residents.
An apology to Liverpool supporters for “the experiences of many of them” and the unjust blaming was made last month by Theodoridis.
Fan group Football Supporters Europe praised to the decision to hand out refunds.
“UEFA’s announcement of the ticket refunds is both unprecedented and hugely welcome, and builds concretely on the apology they extended to Liverpool fans earlier,” FSE board member Kevin Miles said. “Every football fan who has traveled to support a team abroad will know that, while it may have been Liverpool fans who suffered last year, these events or something similar could have happened to any of us.”
Liverpool fans to get refunds after Champions League chaos
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Liverpool fans to get refunds after Champions League chaos
- The governing body of European soccer said Tuesday that a scheme has been set up to reimburse all 19,618 tickets purchased by Liverpool fans
- Refunds will also be paid out to Real Madrid supporters and neutral fans who meet certain criteria set out by UEFA
Real Madrid edge Valencia to stay on Barca’s tail, Atletico slump
- After Spanish champions Barca had beaten Mallorca on Saturday, Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals
BARCELONA: Kylian Mbappe scored his 23rd goal of the season in La Liga to help Real Madrid claim a battling 2-0 win at Valencia on Sunday and close the gap to leaders Barcelona to one point.
Third-place Atletico Madrid slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Real Betis, three days after thrashing the Andalusian side in the Copa del Rey, falling further away from the top two.
After Spanish champions Barca had beaten Mallorca on Saturday, Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals.
Missing suspended forward Vinicius Junior and injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, Los Blancos lacked sparkle but did enough to claim three points on Spain’s east coast.
Alvaro Carreras put the visitors ahead midway through the second half and Mbappe struck late on to seal their win.
“It was going to be a game where we had to have a lot of patience. I think it was a win that came because of how solid we were, and our focussed performance,” said Arbeloa.
“I think that we were fair winners.”
England international Trent Alexander-Arnold made his return after injury as a substitute in the second half of Madrid’s victory.
Arda Guler and Mbappe had chances in the first half, while Madrid right-back David Jimenez, from the club’s youth academy, came closest to scoring but was denied by goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
Midway through the second half, Carreras conjured a goal out of nothing to give Madrid the lead.
Coming in from the left, the defender used his weaker right foot to stroke the ball inside Dimitrievski’s near post.
Valencia might have levelled but Lucas Beltran’s effort on the stretch clipped the post.
Madrid eventually secured the three points in stoppage time as Brahim Diaz teed up La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe to finish from close range.
“Right now he’s the best player in the world, for what he’s showing day after day and game after game,” said Arbeloa, who reiterated that Mbappe could live up to his boyhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy at Real Madrid.
“As I’ve said before, it seemed like Cristiano was something alien, impossible to equal, and that nobody would get close, but Kylian is on a good path... it’s not easy, obviously, but if anyone can, it’s Kylian.”
Valencia’s fans, some of whom had waved white handkerchieves during the match in protest at the club’s situation, headed for the exits with Los Che 17th, one point above the drop zone.
“It’s normal that (the fans) are nervous, I would be too,” admitted Valencia captain Jose Gaya to DAZN.
Revenge mission
Antony’s first-half strike helped Betis win at Atletico, earning his side revenge for their cup mauling, and leaving Atletico 13 points behind leaders Barcelona.
Betis, fifth, continued their push toward the top four, now trailing fourth-placed Villarreal by four points, although they have played two more matches than the Yellow Submarine.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico waltzed into the Copa del Rey semifinals with a hefty 5-0 win at Betis on Thursday, but this was a far closer affair at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium.
“It’s a tough defeat to take after the great game we had in the cup. We weren’t as good as the other day,” admitted Atletico captain Koke to Movistar.
“They set up a lot tighter at the back... We had very few chances and they played a great game.”
Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini made five changes to the team which crumbled at home and his side were determined to prove a point in the Spanish capital.
“I’m very happy for the goal and even more so for the victory — it’s been a very difficult week,” said Antony, who curled home after 28 minutes, beating Jan Oblak at his near post.
“We had to change, there was no other option... we’re sorry (to the fans) for the game in the cup.”
Atletico had the ball in Betis’s net with 15 minutes to go when Diego Llorente headed Giuliano Simeone’s cross into his own net, but Antoine Griezmann was judged to be fractionally offside and interfering with play.
Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao beat Levante 4-2, Sevilla and Girona shared a 1-1 draw, and Getafe won 2-0 at Alaves.
