Liverpool supporters sue Uefa: 600 fans demand compensation for Champions League crowd trouble that ‘ruined lives’
Hundreds of Liverpool supporters have launched a legal claim for compensation from Uefa after European football’s governing body was blamed for the crowd trouble at last year’s Champions League final.
Law firm Leigh Day is representing more than 600 Reds supporters who they say “should be recompensed for the trauma they experienced” during chaotic scenes at the Stade de France in Paris in May.
A Uefa report into the final concluded that Uefa bore “primary responsibility” for the failure to safely funnel spectators into the stadium, which it said almost resulted in a “mass fatality catastrophe”.
Organisers have pledged to offer refunds but Leigh Day lawyers Clare Campbell and Jill Paterson argue that Liverpool supporters deserve redress for physical and psychological injuries suffered in an incident that had echoes of the Hillsborough disaster.
“After such a damning report, Uefa needs to take responsibility for the significant part it played in the chaos that unfolded at last season’s Champions League final and recompensate the fans who have had to deal with the after-effects,” said Campbell and Paterson.
“Finally, fans have been given some clarity on how and why the events they experienced on 28 May 2022 happened but, while the report is robust, it cannot undo the damage that was done on that day.
“It is promising to hear that Uefa are considering a special refund scheme, but it’s important to understand that what is required here is more than a ticket refund.
“This is about accountability, learning lessons for the future and ensuring that fans who have been injured and traumatised receive proper compensation for what they’ve endured.”
Liverpool chiefs have called for Uefa to implement all recommendations made in the highly critical report, which also pointed the finger at French authorities.
Supporter Andrew Patterson, who was at the final and is one of the claimants, called it “the worst day of my life”.
He added: “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.
“I’m type one diabetic and the insulin I carry with me was destroyed by the heat because we were all packed in so closely together. So, from about two and a half hours before the game I was in a really dangerous position because I had no insulin.
“Then, when I was going through the gate, I was pushed against the fence which ripped the sensor off my arm that monitors my blood sugars. I started panicking because now 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.”
Liverpool looked subdued in a 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid when the final was eventually played, later than planned. The two sides are due to meet in the Champions League last 16 next week.