Champions League
UEFA Bids To Dismiss Liverpool Fans’ Lawsuit Over 2022 Champions League Final
UEFA has asked the High Court in England to dismiss lawsuits filed by over 1,000 Liverpool fans who attended the 2022 Champions League final in Paris.
These fans claim to have suffered personal injuries due to disorder outside the stadium.
The lawsuit against UEFA and UEFA Events, filed last year, started from the chaos outside the Stade de France before the match. The game was subsequently delayed by more than 30 minutes.
Fans reported instances of French police using tear gas on them and complained about the forceful manner in which they were corralled into pens outside the stadium.
An independent review of incidents outside the stadium found that UEFA was responsible for a “large number of near misses that nearly led to disaster” before the final, which Real Madrid won 1-0.
UEFA settled with a group of Liverpool fans in March. However, a separate case representing approximately 1,200 others is still ongoing at the High Court.
During a preliminary hearing on Thursday, UEFA’s legal team requested the court to adjourn an upcoming hearing scheduled for later this month, during which UEFA will seek to have the cases dismissed.
UEFA’s lawyer Shaheed Fatima said in court documents that the case could not continue because it would require the court “to make findings as to the lawfulness or unlawfulness … of the French state”.
Judge Edward Pepperall decided that the hearing on UEFA’s request to dismiss the cases should proceed as planned on June 27.
Initially, UEFA had pointed fingers at the fans of the Merseyside club for the disorder before later issuing an apology following the publication of an independent review last year.
The body later set up a refund scheme, however, Real Madrid described it as “insufficient” and declined to contribute.
UEFA implemented a range of measures for upcoming finals, such as augmenting the number of security officers and engaging fans in the planning and implementation process.
