UEFA ‘primarily to blame’ for Champions League final chaos that ‘almost led to disaster’

The review, commissioned by UEFA and seen by The Times before its official release, says that the French police and the French Football Federation (FFF) also “bear responsibility” for the failings. There was also “no plan B” to counter the challenges that arose.

Tens of thousands of Liverpool fans faced difficulties in accessing the Stade de France for the final against Real Madrid on May 28 last year, caused by failures in the ticketing process, planning, bottlenecks and lack of signs, with French riot police responding by using tear gas, often indiscriminately.

Kick-off was delayed by 37 minutes but hordes of fans were still outside the stadium when the game started.

“The dangerous conditions on the concourse outside the turnstiles were compounded by the police deploying tear gas at disorderly groups of locals, as well as using pepper spray on supporters trying to gain entrance with valid tickets,” the report’s executive summary reads. “It is remarkable that no one lost their life.”

The panel’s conclusions state: “UEFA, as event owner, bears primary responsibility for failures which almost led to disaster. Whereas it was reasonable to delegate various security and safety matters to others – primarily FFF – and to defer to the constitutional position of the police regarding policing duties, it did not follow that this absolved UEFA of responsibility.

“UEFA was central to the organisation of the event and it should have monitored, supervised and assisted with security and safety measures, to ensure they were fit for purpose, and to identify and remedy problems before they arose in real time.”

The report adds that, by delegating safety, security and policing duties, “UEFA sought to insulate itself from anything that went wrong. In doing so, it largely removed its own S&S [safety and security] unit from a vital role to monitor, supervise and draw together joint efforts, and troubleshoot and escalate problems as they arose and were identified.”

It also says it is “wholly unacceptable” that UEFA was unaware that the security-based approach to policing the event had been adopted due to a “woefully inaccurate view of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster – that it was caused by hooliganism”.

Liverpool were unhappy that the report by the panel, headed by the Portuguese politician Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, was leaked before the club had received it.

A Liverpool spokesman said: “It’s hugely disappointing that a report of such significance, such importance to football supporters’ lives and future safety, should be leaked and published in this way.

“We will await to receive a copy of the report and digest it before making any further comment.”

The report also criticises the senior management of UEFA Events SA – the division that organises tournaments and finals – for marginalising Uefa’s S&S unit by using subcontracted stewards and then trying to avoid accountability.

It also concluded that there was a “failure of Uefa’s senior leadership to address these issues over a number of years, despite clear knowledge of them”.

Martin Kallen, the longstanding chief executive of UEFA Events SA, comes in for particular criticism. The report concludes: “Martin Kallen’s account of what occurred was seriously flawed and contained assertions that were objectively untrue.

“In particular, Mr Kallen asserted that UEFA had staged previous events at the Stade de France without incident, making reference to the 2006 Champions League final at which he was present. In fact, UEFA reported after the match that there had been serious problems, including failures with the police and access problems. Mr Kallen claimed not to know about congestion problems on the [railway station] to stadium route at the 2016 French cup final, even though they had triggered a review before the Euro 2016 matches at the Stade de France.”

The review also criticises police for “standing by” and not defending fans when they were subjected to attacks by local youths.

The French authorities initially blamed large numbers of ticketless fans or supporters with forged tickets, but acknowledged afterwards that this had not been the cause.

The report adds: “The panel concludes that [the] assertions have been wrongly inflated and have been stated as fact, to deflect responsibility for the planning and operational failures of stakeholders. This is reprehensible and has involved UEFA, UEFA Events SA, FFF, the Prefecture de Police, government officials and French ministers.”

The report adds that a message stating that the delayed kick-off had been caused by the late arrival of supporters should not have been displayed. “This is a matter of great sensitivity to Liverpool supporters because, for more than two decades, ‘late supporters’ were falsely accused of causing the Hillsborough disaster,” the report read.

Commenting on the report, the UEFA general-secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, said: “On behalf of UEFA, I would like to apologise most sincerely 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 apologise to [Liverpool] supporters for … the messages which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation.”

After the final, France’s sports minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera, wrote to Liverpool to apologise, accepting that events could have brought back “painful memories” of the Hillsborough disaster.

– The Times

Originally published as UEFA ‘primarily to blame’ for Champions League final chaos that ‘almost led to disaster’