An alarming report has been released about the security failures at the Champions League finals in May. UEFA to conduct an emergency review of its management following “egregious failures on all aspects” of the organisation’s “responsibility for stadium safety.”
The release of the 160-page report takes into consideration 485 testimonies from eyewitnesses, coinciding with Monday night’s BBC Panorama documentary, which examines what happened at the Stade de France before, during and after Real Madrid’s victory over Liverpool.
Some of the key findings from the report, which is separate from UEFA’s review due to be released in November, relate to inadequate pre-match preparation by UEFA and agencies in Paris, along with provision for crowd safety.
Combined with aggressive policing, the report said fans were left “traumatised” by unprovoked assaults by police and local gangs.
The report — ‘Treated with Contempt”: An Independent Panel Report into Fans’ Experiences Before, During and After the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris’ — has called for all briefings between the police and the French government to be made public, concluding that UEFA had achieved “abject failure” in trying to meet its responsibilities.
It also said its panel “recommends that UEFA undertakes an emergency management review”.
