Liverpool have been granted their wish regarding their request for an investigation into the trouble that left fans fearing for their lives at Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris. UEFA confirmed on Monday evening that an independent report into the problems outside the ground has now been commissioned and the events will be thoroughly examined. It comes after a Liverpool statement after the match confirmed they had “officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues”.
Fans queued up to gain access to the ground as early as three hours before kick-off against Real Madrid. But excitement soon turned to panic and fear as crowds swelled outside the Stade de France, with Liverpool unhappy with how local authorities treated their fans.
French police fired tear gas and pepper sprayed spectators and kick-off had to be delayed by 36 minutes with a significant number still stuck outside the ground when the match eventually got underway. After requesting a thorough investigation into the incident, Liverpool have seen their request accepted with UEFA requesting an independent report into Saturday’s unsavoury scenes.
“UEFA has today announced it has commissioned an independent report into the events surrounding the UEFA Champions League final in Paris on Saturday 28 May,” the UEFA statement read. “The comprehensive review will examine decision making, responsibility and behaviours of all entities involved in the final.
“The report will be independently compiled and Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues from Portugal will lead the production of this review. Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues (born in Braga, Portugal in 1977) is a Member of the Portuguese Parliament and the President of the Parliamentary Committee of Environment and Energy. He was the Portuguese Minister of Education (also in charge of Sports and Youth) between 2015 and 2022, a member of the World Antidoping Agency Foundation Board (2019-2021) and was the Portuguese Olympic attaché during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
“In order to guarantee his independent status in the process, Dr. Brandão Rodrigues agreed to execute this task on a pro bono basis. Evidence will be gathered from all relevant parties and the findings of the independent report will be made public once completed and upon receipt of the findings, UEFA will evaluate the next steps.”
The governing body have said they will “review the matter urgently”, whilst the French sports ministry has called a meeting with UEFA, the French FA, stadium officials and police to draw lessons from the event. The game ended up 1-0 to Real Madrid, with Vinicius Jr scoring the winner on the hour mark.
However, many did not care about the result given the horrifying ordeal they had to put themselves through prior to kick-off. Police have meanwhile said they made 105 arrests at the game as a result of people trying to access the game without a ticket.