London, Feb 15 (IANS) Liverpool FC has welcomed the official report by an independent panel into the chaos at the UEFA Champions League final last May.
UEFA published on Monday the report produced by the Independent Review Panel led by Dr. Brandao Rodrigues, which investigated the events surrounding the UEFA Champions League final played in Paris on May 28, 2022.
The UEFA said the report highlights a number of important lessons about how the organization of the final could have been improved and makes a set of recommendations to ensure better fan experience and safety at future events.
“On behalf of UEFA, I would like to apologize most sincerely once again to all those who were affected by the events that unfolded on what should have been a celebration at the pinnacle of the club season. In particular, I would like to apologize to the supporters of Liverpool FC for the experiences many of them had when attending the game and for the messages released prior to and during the game which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation leading to the delayed kick-off,” said UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis.
In a statement released Tuesday, Liverpool FC said the report fully vindicated Liverpool fans while finding UEFA primarily responsible for organizational failings, absence of overall control or oversight of safety and security, poor planning and lack of contingency plans, Xinhua reported.
Fans were penned in and tear gassed outside the Stade de France at the final.
Liverpool FC called on UEFA to implement 21 critical recommendations of the report to ensure safe passage for all football supporters at every UEFA match.
“We were determined to make sure a robust investigation was conducted in order that lessons are learned to ensure the safety of football supporters in Europe is never compromised again,” read the club’s statement.
“It can’t just be a focus on finals, it has to be a focus on all of the matches that we conduct across Europe and that’s really UEFA’s role and responsibility to deliver on that,” said Liverpool FC’s CEO Billy Hogan.
“So, effectively from our perspective we want to now see UEFA take these 21 recommendations and put them into practice,” Hogan added.
–IANS
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