Football: Liverpool fans still scarred by Champions League final six months on
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Liverpool fans outside the Stade de France after being unable to get in in time for the Champions League final against Real Madrid in May.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Six months on from the chaos that put lives at risk at the Champions League final in Paris,
Others appear to be watching their heroes “under anaesthetic” with the atmosphere at Anfield, one of football’s most iconic stadiums, described as “awful” this season by local member of parliament and fan Ian Byrne.
Real Madrid’s 1-0 win at the Stade de France
Kick-off was delayed by 36 minutes
Police then fired tear gas towards thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium.
For many Liverpool fans, the scenes brought back memories of a crush at Hillsborough Stadium in 1989
“I think we’re still all suffering from the after-effects of the final,” said Joe Blott, chair of Liverpool supporters group Spirit of Shankly.
“Many people I know and other people are struggling to get to the game now as a consequence of the crowd management.
“Them not wanting to go to the game because they’ve been to a game is tragic in its own way.”
There were no fatalities in the French capital but there was still a physical and mental price to pay for both the lack of organisation on the part of the authorities before the match and mudslinging towards supporters in the aftermath.
“So many people are still damaged by what they experienced,” said Byrne.
“I think the atmosphere at Anfield is reflective of that. It’s been awful this season and that’s not down to the football, it’s been really strange.
“I feel people are at the game under anaesthetic. It feels like all the passion has been sucked out.
“For generations, Liverpool fans have learnt the lessons of Hillsborough. Why haven’t the authorities?”
Uefa pinned the blame for the late start to the match on supporters “arriving late” despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off.
The French authorities then claimed an “industrial scale fraud” of fake tickets was the problem.
However, a French Senate inquiry in July found it was a lack of preparation by French authorities and Uefa, as well as poorly executed security arrangements, that were the cause of the mayhem, rather than supporter behaviour.
An independent report into events around the final found that the unprovoked deployment of tear gas from the French police “constituted criminal assault”.
Images of the final tarnished France’s reputation for holding major sports events ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2023 and the 2024 Olympic Games, both of which will host events at the Stade de France.
Uefa pinned the blame for the late start to the match on supporters “arriving late” despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off.
PHOTO: AFP
Liverpool fan and journalist Daniel Austin, who was at the Stade de France on the night of the final, said: “The Senate report makes it clear that the behaviour of fans was not at any point a problem and the failures lie with the authorities. They could easily repeat them again because no measures have been put in place to deal with them.”
Over 2,000 Liverpool fans are in the process of pursuing Uefa in a class action lawsuit for breach of contract in ticket sales and negligence over a duty of care they had towards supporters.
But many more say they will not attend another Uefa-organised match even if Liverpool make it back to the Champions League final in the coming years.
The results of Uefa’s own inquiry are expected in the coming days. AFP
