A UEFA-commissioned review into the poor treatment of Liverpool fans outside the 2022 Champions League final is set to find the failings “almost led to a disaster” after faults by European football’s governing body and the lack of a venue risk assessment by French authorities, Sky News can reveal.
It is understood French police are due to face criticism in the independent report for firing tear gas and pepper spray indiscriminately on concourses near turnstiles being used by Liverpool fans, leading to crushing around security barriers at the Stade de France before the game against Real Madrid.
The report ordered by the UEFA leadership to uncover what went wrong – even within their organisation – is yet to be published, but Sky News has discovered some of its apparent key conclusions.
There were significant issues accessing the venue and French authorities are set to be criticised for deflecting responsibility, particularly after false claims about a mass of fans without tickets or fake ones.
Police are set to be blamed for not being proactive enough in intervening when locals – who tried to climb fences and jump turnstiles – attacked fans, and for being over-reliant on the use of tear gas and pepper spray on blameless fans.
UEFA, as event owner, is said to be assigned “primary responsibility”, but it’s understood some commission members disagreed with the conclusion.
Read more:
What actually happened at the Stade de France?
The report is also set to say the police and the French Football Federation (FFF) “bear responsibility” because of their roles ensuring public safety.
The lack of a ‘Plan B’ is said to have been uncovered – contingencies that could have seen stewards and police redeployed to deal with crowd management challenges.
The match was delayed for 37 minutes as a combination of operational problems outside the venue created access issues for distressed fans – particularly those who are disabled and asthmatics who had to contend with the tear gas and pepper spray.
There was a “massive” bottleneck when Liverpool supporters were funnelled through a narrow gap and tear gas was fired into an area containing thousands of Liverpool fans.
The commission rejected attempts to blame ticketless fans by French authorities on the night of May 28 and said late arriving supporters weren’t a cause because problems were apparent about three hours before kick-off.
The report is set to claim the senior management of UEFA Events SA – the UEFA division running tournaments and showpiece matches – marginalised the safety and security unit with the use of subcontracted stewards and then tried to avoid accountability.
Allegedly flawed accounts by UEFA Events SA CEO Martin Kallen are set to be criticised by the panel.
Although no serious injuries were reported, the event was seen as a near-miss which led to UEFA apologising to Liverpool fans and ordering an investigation into itself to learn from mistakes.
Final moved from Russia
There was truncated planning for the final after UEFA was forced to find a new venue due to Russia launching its invasion of Ukraine.
Saint Petersburg was stripped of the hosting only three months before the final.
Typically, venues are chosen multiple years in advance, although the location of the previous two finals was switched even closer to the game due to coronavirus pandemic travel issues.
The review team found organisers were too reliant on operational plans used for the French Cup final – a fixture involving domestic teams rather than thousands flying in from abroad.
It is understood the French Football Federation is alleged to have produced no venue risk assessment or “proper” event risk assessment.
The FFF didn’t respond to messages for comment through email and its media website on Monday.
‘No evidence of mass ticketless supporters’
UEFA is set to be told it should have done more to challenge the failure of joined up working and find solutions on the night.
Disputing statements on the night by UEFA and the French government, no evidence of mass ticketless supporters has been uncovered.
In fact, more than 2,500 Liverpool fans were found to be unable to register legitimate tickets at turnstiles.
There is the potential that access points at the turnstiles wrongly deemed these to be fake – leading to the rushed conclusions – and pointing to issues with the infrastructure at the Stade de France.
Read more:
Liverpool fans unfairly blamed for Champions League final unrest
What actually happened at the Stade de France?
French politician apologises to Liverpool fans after chaos in Paris
Access issues to the stadium on the outskirts of Paris – following defective route planning from a train station – contributed to congestion and dangerous scenes on May 28.
The side-lined UEFA security and safety unit should have been used to work with local authorities to check the route to the stadium and ensure turnstiles were working, the panel is believed to have found.
The French sports ministry did not reply to a request for comment. UEFA didn’t provide a comment ahead of receiving the report.
The independent review was led by former Portuguese minister Dr Tiago Brandão Rodrigues and sports safety experts and English fan representatives were also consulted.
Dr Rodrigues said last year in a UEFA statement: “The events of 28 May were distressing for everyone involved. This review aims to look at the evidence dispassionately and to identify responsibilities and ways forward.”