EUROPE’S football ruling body UEFA has confirmed that Liverpool fans who bought tickets from the club’s allocation for last season’s Champions League final are eligible for a refund.
The final in Paris last May was marred by chaos and there were 19,618 fans at the game, most of whom had trouble gaining entrance.
On February 13, UEFA promised to open a “special refund scheme for fans” who attended the final, in response to the damning findings of the report it commissioned into the events around the Stade de France.
The report found that UEFA bears “primary responsibility” for the organisational and safety failures that turned the final into a terrible experience for thousands of Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters.
General admission tickets ranged from €70 to €690 and today UEFA confirmed details of its scheme.
“The special refund scheme covers all of the Liverpool FC ticket allocation for the final, ie 19,618 tickets,” the body said in an official statement today.
It added it would “reimburse Liverpool FC the total value of these tickets and the club will then process the refunds to its supporters”.
Some Real Madrid fans who bought tickets through their club and some spectators who purchased tickets from other legitimate sources will also be eligible for a refund.
UEFA said those fans would need to meet its refund criteria, which were made clear in a statement.
“Refunds will be available to all fans with tickets for gates A, B, C, X, Y and Z where the most difficult circumstances were reported,” UEFA explained.
“In addition, all fans who according to the access control data did not enter the stadium before 21:00 CEST (the originally scheduled kick-off time), or who were not able to enter the stadium at all, will be eligible for a refund. Finally, UEFA will offer refunds to all fans who purchased accessibility tickets along with those of their accompanying persons.”
UEFA’s general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, said: “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.”
Fans were delayed at the entrances, some were crushed and brutalised by the police, while others were attacked by local criminals in their attempts to watch the final, which Real Madrid won 1-0.
