European football governing body, UEFA has announced that a special refund will be given to all Liverpool fans for their tickets.
A review highlighted that UEFA was responsible for the mayhem caused outside the stadium just before last year’s Champions League final in Paris.
The refund programme will cover the 19,618 tickets allocated to the Merseyside club, with their supporters set to regain the full price of their tickets. According to reports, the ticket prices for the May 2022 final ranged from £59.40 up to £585.70 for a seat at the Stade de France.
UEFA announces special refund scheme for fans following the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris.
We will refund fans who had bought tickets and were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.
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— UEFA (@UEFA) March 7, 2023
According to the report announced by UEFA on Tuesday, “a special refund scheme for fans who were most affected when accessing the stadium” will be implemented. The refunds will also be available to all fans with tickets for gates A, B, C, X, Y, and Z, which were the areas with the most difficult circumstances.
Liverpool were said to have been fully involved in the procedure that led to the reimbursement, having been a part of it from the start. This comes after the Reds’ fans were subjected to harsh treatment after being denied entry to the stadium and being sprayed with tear gas, causing the game to be delayed by 36 minutes.
Although the European football governing body and the French government initially blamed the English fans for the disturbances, they both later apologized to them following a report from an investigation review panel led by Portuguese politician Dr Brandao Rodrigues, with the body completely exonerating Liverpool of any wrongdoing.
They further praised the conduct of the fans and said that the “organizational failures from the two governing bodies could have had catastrophic consequences”.
UEFA 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.
“We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organisations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA) as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period.
“We recognise the negative experiences of those supporters on the day and with this scheme we will refund fans who had bought tickets and who were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.”
In addition, fans of both finalists 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.
