Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed the importance of the club’s fans being exonerated following an investigation into the chaos caused before the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid last May.
Before the match, which the Reds lost on a second-half strike from Vinicius Jr., many Liverpool fans were subjected to harsh treatment after being denied entry to the Stade de France and being sprayed with tear gas, causing the game to be delayed by 36 minutes.
Klopp was relieved at the news, and he showed his happiness through a statement on the club’s website.
“It feels just right that it’s now official,” he said.
“Everybody knows it now because there were so many things said after the game, which we knew were wrong.
“It was just lies. So, I’m really happy that it’s finally said officially,” Klopp added.
The German further thanked the fans for their resilience in a time of danger and hoped improvements would be made in order to avoid such occurrences in the future.
“Thank you. Staying calm in a situation where nobody really can stay calm, tear gas in your eyes, pressure from up front, from the side, from behind, being locked in between thousands of people and not pushing like crazy, staying calm, is a massive thing to do and an extremely difficult thing to do,” said the Reds boss.
“And then getting out of it and getting blamed for that, it’s horrible. It’s really horrible.
“When you hear it first time, you cannot believe it, that it all happened, but it did. So, yes, there’s a lot to improve and I hope everybody learned from it,” the former Borussia Dortmund coach concluded.
The Merseyside club announced earlier this week that they welcomed the Union of European Football Associations’ report into the mayhem at the Champions League final, after the European body apologized for initially blaming them.
UEFA welcomes the publication of the Independent Review into events surrounding the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris.
Full statement: ⬇️
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 13, 2023
The investigation, conducted by an independent review panel led by Portuguese politician Dr Brandao Rodrigues, was published by UEFA on Monday, with the body completely exonerating Liverpool of any wrongdoings.
The report revealed that the organisers, UEFA, were responsible for the troubles caused before the match, which included lack of organizational control, poor planning, lack of contingency plans and oversight of safety and security.
After a series of interviews and testimonies from present fans and major stakeholders, the evidence-based report also revealed that the actions of Liverpool supporters helped save numerous lives and that there was “a clear and immediate danger of a fatal crush”.
