Lawyers preparing imminent legal claims against Uefa on behalf of Liverpool supporters who suffered injury and trauma at last May’s Champions League final say the case has been strengthened by the damning findings of Uefa’s own review into the near-disaster.
More than 2,600 people caught up in the hours of chaos and safety failures at the Stade de France in Paris have signed up to sue football’s European confederation for compensation. The central finding of the review panel, which was chaired by a Portuguese MP, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, was that Uefa had “primary responsibility” for the safety failures that almost led to a “mass fatality catastrophe”. The panel’s report said Uefa had “marginalised” its own safety and security unit and that people in senior leadership positions at the organisation had known about this but failed to address it.
A “special refund scheme for fans”, mentioned by Uefa with no explanation in its immediate response to the report’s publication, will be insufficient to compensate people for their loss if it is merely returning the cost of tickets, the lawyers said.
Clare Campbell and Jill Paterson, partners at Leigh Day solicitors, who are representing more than 600 people, said: “The findings of the Rodrigues review confirm our initial instincts and what fans have been telling us about the appalling events at the Stade de France. We will now press ahead with a group action on behalf of the fans that we represent.”
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They plan to notify Uefa of a legal claim “without delay”, they said, and are “looking to commence the legal process as soon as possible”.
Of the refund scheme, they said: “It’s important to understand that what is required here is more than just a ticket refund. It’s about accountability and about learning lessons for the future. It’s also about ensuring that fans who have been injured and traumatised as a result of this frightening incident also receive proper compensation for what they’ve endured.”
One of the Liverpool supporters represented by Leigh Day, Andrew Patterson, 32, is diabetic and has spoken of struggling with enduring trauma from a terrifying ordeal in the crush and congestion at France’s national stadium before the showpiece final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
“It was the worst day of my life and I’m still dealing with the issues now,” he said. “I still can’t deal with big crowds, I still wake up with night terrors, I can’t recount the story without tears. It’s messed me up in a big way.”
His insulin was destroyed in the heat during the long period Liverpool supporters were crammed together at a disorganised access point before the match, putting him in a “really dangerous position”, he said. He was then pushed against a metal fence at the turnstiles, which tore from his arm the sensor that monitors his blood sugar levels.
“I started panicking because I had no way of monitoring my sugars and no medication. I wasn’t able to get replacement insulin until 3am the next day, which meant I was without medication for around eight hours.
“Uefa didn’t just ruin the day; for a lot of people, they ruined lives. To say they dealt with it poorly is an understatement. It shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.”
More than 2,000 supporters have signed up for litigation with the law firm Pogust Goodhead, in partnership with the Liverpool firm Binghams. Tony Winterburn, partner at Pogust Goodhead, said: “This is a hugely damning report for Uefa, which clearly strengthens the case we are bringing on behalf of Liverpool fans.
“We are calling on Uefa and in particular its president, Aleksander Ceferin, personally, to do the right thing and publicly accept responsibility. There must be compensation for all those fans affected by this horrific event.
“It is clear Uefa’s safety plan was written around a myth that Liverpool fans were going to cause trouble that day and it is imperative that myth stops now to avoid further unacceptable incidents occurring in the future, with possibly tragic consequences.”
When publishing the report, Uefa repeated an apology made to supporters of both clubs after the final. However, Uefa did not say that it accepted responsibility or the panel’s findings, saying only that it was “assessing them against its own analysis of the organisation of the event and facts that occurred around it”.
Uefa has been approached for comment about the legal claims. – Guardian
