UEFA to refund Liverpool fans caught up in Champions League final chaos last year

Fans of Liverpool queue outside the stadium ahead of the 2022 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France on 28 May, 2022 in Paris, France.
(Image credit: Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images)

UEFA have confirmed that they will offer refunds to all Liverpool fans who had tickets for last year's Champions League final in Paris, where supporters were caught up in chaotic scenes ahead of the game against Real Madrid.

The announcement comes after UEFA last month published the findings of an independent report into events outside the Stade de France.

Reds fans were absolved of any blame, with the report concluding that UEFA "bears primary responsibility for failures which almost led to disaster".

Tightly penned in supporters were pepper-sprayed and teargassed by police as they queued to enter the stadium; as a result kick-off was delayed by more than half-an-hour.

UEFA and the French authorities initially blamed fans with fake tickets or no tickets for the incident – claims which were proven to be false and for which UEFA eventually apologised.

All 19,618 ticket holders who purchased from Liverpool's official allocation are entitled to their money back.

The move has been positively received by the Football Supporters Association, whose chief executive Kevin Miles said:

"UEFA's announcement of the ticket refunds is both unprecedented and hugely welcome, and build concretely on the apology they extended to Liverpool fans earlier."

Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...