UEFA has revealed fans refund program that purchased tickets for the controversial Champions League final in Paris last May after showing that a catalog of organizational failures almost led to a disaster outside the Stade de France.
Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters will be eligible for a refund, with UEFA refunding the total cost of the tickets purchased by 19,618 Reds supporters and some of the Spanish team’s fans. Prices for the tickets ranged from £59.40 to £585.70. UEFA’s general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, said:
“We have considered a tremendous amount of ideas voiced both publicly and privately, and we feel we have developed a plan that is thorough and equitable.”
The scheme was welcomed by supporter organizations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA), who acknowledged that UEFA had “gone some distance” toward admitting its involvement in the scandal, but who added that this did not absolve UEFA from criticism or decrease the necessity for them to follow all of the Independent Inquiry’s recommendations.
The incident-hit final, which Real Madrid ultimately won 1-0, was delayed by 38 minutes after supporters outside the stadium were indiscriminately sprayed with tear gas, leading to crushes around the stadium. At the time, UEFA and the French authorities blamed Liverpool fans for the disturbances. However, these claims were