UEFA to refund LFC ticket holders Spirit of Shankly and the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association welcome today’s announcement from UEFA that they are to refund all Liverpool FC ticket holders who attended the Champions League final in Paris in May 22. This unprecedented move is the result of tireless work, alongside FSE and Ian Byrne MP, to hold those responsible for the catastrophic events in Paris. With a promise to reimburse supporters, UEFA have gone some way to acknowledge their part in the fiasco. But it does not excuse UEFA, exempt them from criticism or [...]

Assurances On Tuesday 21 February, Spirit of Shankly met with UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis, Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, Football Supporters Association and Football Supporters Europe in Liverpool to discuss the 2022 Champions League Final alongside the conclusions and recommendations of the UEFA commissioned Independent Review. You can see a brief, joint statement here. At the meeting, we re-iterated that there is nothing in the Review that we disagree with. We also on behalf of Liverpool fans: Demanded a full and unreserved apology from UEFA for the unacceptable organisation of the Champions [...]

The report UEFA’s Independent Panel Inquiry runs to 220 pages – a forensic piece of work detailing how and why the events of 28 May 2022 occurred.  They conclude that a series of failures caused or contributed to the problems on 28 May 2022, but have focussed on UEFA, French Football Federation, and the Préfecture de Police because of their key roles, which should have ensured the safety of the final They summarise that “ the UEFA ‘model’ created a lacuna, whereby no one had proper oversight over the full planning and operational picture, and [...]

Liverpool fans exonerated Spirit of Shankly today welcome the findings of the Independent Panel Inquiry into events surrounding the UEFA Champions League Final in Paris on 28 May 2022 in which Liverpool fans have been cleared of blame and responsibility for the horrendous situations that occurred in and around Stade de France that night.  What should have been the highlight of the season for travelling supporters of Liverpool and Real Madrid – in UEFA’s words a ‘festival of football’ – turned out to be a maelstrom of chaos and alarm that led to some fans [...]

UEFA Independent Inquiry Panel need to publish findings Following the unacceptable events at the UEFA Champions League Final on 28 May 2022 in Paris, UEFA announced, on 3 June 2022, they would be undertaking an independent inquiry into the “frightening and distressing events in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League Final at Stade de France on 28 May 2022 in Paris, on a night which should have been a celebration of European club football”.  They went on to say: “No football fan should be put in that situation, and it must not happen again.”  [...]