UEFA tickets refunded to Liverpool fans

UEFA has announced for a special refund scheme for the fans who were affected on the France stadium on 28 may 2022.

Refunds will be available to all fans with tickets for gates A, B, C, X, Y and Z where the most difficult circumstances were reported. In addition, all fans who according to the access control data did not enter the stadium before 21:00 CEST (the originally scheduled kick-off time), or who were not able to enter the stadium at all, will be eligible for a refund. Finally, UEFA will offer refunds to all fans who purchased accessibility tickets along with those of their accompanying persons.

Given these criteria, the special refund scheme covers all of the Liverpool FC ticket allocation for the Final, almost around 19,618 tickets. Due to the nature of the original ticket sales process, whereby Liverpool fans purchased tickets from Liverpool FC and not directly from UEFA.

UEFA has requested that the club implements the refunds to ensure personal data protection and for ease of process. The club has kindly confirmed that it will implement the special refund scheme. Accordingly, UEFA will reimburse Liverpool FC the total value of these tickets and the club will then process the refunds to its supporters.

Refunds to fans of Real Madrid CF who meet the refund criteria will be processed based on the requests received from the ticket buyer via UEFA’s customer service. The same applies to neutral supporters who purchased tickets directly from UEFA and who are eligible for a refund.

We would also remind fans that, as announced by the Embassy of France in the United Kingdom, ticket holders who were victims of crimes committed in Paris may report their case to the relevant French authorities.

The complaint form is available in English and can be accessed via this link and, once completed, should be posted to the French prosecutor using the address indicated in the document.

Commenting on the special refund scheme, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said:

“We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair.

We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organisations Spirit of Shankly and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period.

We recognise the negative experiences of those supporters on the day and with this scheme we will refund fans who had bought tickets and who were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.”

The final, which Real Madrid won 1-0, was delayed by 38 minutes due to the crowd issues, with fans inside the stadium told a “security issue” was to blame for the late running.

UFEA Statement Regarding issue

UEFA apologised to Liverpool in February and promised “a special refund scheme for fans”, which the organisation then announced on Tuesday.

Some Real Madrid fans will also be eligible for refunds, with anyone who did not access the stadium before the originally scheduled kick-off time or at all among those able to claim.

UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said, “We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair.

The lack of a Plan B has 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 were not a cause as problems were apparent about three hours before kick-off.