UEFA is preparing to refund all Liverpool fans’ tickets from the 2022 Champions League final after a review found that a catalogue of organisational failures “almost led to a disaster” outside the Stade de France.
All 19,618 Reds supporters who were at the game in Paris will receive the full cost of their ticket back from European football’s governing body, with prices ranging from £59.40 up to £585.70 for a seat at the incident-hit final last May.
Liverpool were involved in the process that led to this decision, having influence on discussions from the start.
The refund comes after their fans were indiscriminately sprayed with tear gas leading to crushes around the stadium before the game, but were initially blamed by UEFA and the French government for causing the disturbances.
Both later rowed back on those claims with a UEFA-commissioned report later praising their conduct, and saying the organisational failures from the two governing bodies could have had catastrophic consequences.
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.
UEFA apologised to Liverpool in February and promised “a special refund scheme for fans”, which the organisation is now preparing to announce.