UEFA have announced a special refund scheme for Liverpool supporters affected by events at 2021-22 Champions League Final.
Last season’s final was moved in March 2022 from St Petersburg, Russia, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Stade de France, Paris, France, yet dismisal scenes involving French police and a lack of crowd control saw Liverpool supporters encounter difficulties entering the stadium.
Real Madrid eventually won the Final which was delayed 37 minutes due to the immediate chaos outside of the stadium, which continued post-match with Real Madrid supporters this time also caught up in the crowd disorder.
UEFA responded in the immediate days following the Final by launching an independent inquiry, which eventually adjudged the governing body as holding “primary responsibility” for the disorder alongside French Authorities for a lack of venue assessment.
UEFA have consequently decided to award refunds to supporters who held tickets for gates; A. B, C, X, Y and Z, where the worst of the crowd control disorder reportedly unfolded.
Fans who failed to enter the stadium via any turnstile prior to the intended kick-off time of 9pm CEST (8pm BST UK Time) or even at all according to access control data, will also be eligible for refund as will supporters who purchased accessibility tickets along with accompanying persons.
UEFA also clarified that this refund scheme covers all 19,618 tickets which Liverpool were allocated for the Final, so have requested that the club implements the refunds to ensure personal data protection and ease of process which the club have agreeed to do.
Liverpool will also be reimbursed the total value of the tickets which they will then process as refunds to affected supporters.
UEFA General Secretary, Theodore Theodoridis issued the following statement: “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.”
Real Madrid supporters who meet the refund criteria will also be processed based upon requests received from the ticket buyer via UEFA’s customer service, with the same procedure applying to neutral supporters who purchased tickets directly through UEFA and are eligible to claim a refund.
UEFA also reminded fans that ticket holders who found themselves as victims of crimes committed in Paris can report their case to relevant French authorities.
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