After days of silence from UEFA following on from the potentially disastrous events in Greece, where over 3,000 Liverpool fans with genuine tickets were beaten, tear-gassed and refused entry to the stadium, UEFA have compiled a dossier branding Liverpool fans ‘the Worst in Europe’.
The report discussed this morning on Liverpool’s Radio City follow on from an interview held yesterday with one of UEFA’s top spokesmen. The radio station had been pushing for seven days to get contact with UEFA.
Michel Platini’s cronies will hand the dossier to Richard Caborn, Britain’s Sports Minister tomorrow and it is a clear counter-attack by UEFA on the many groups of Liverpool fans who are seeking prosecution claims against the ramshackled football organisation based in Brussels.
UEFA cite 25 incidents in recent years involving Liverpool fans and the disappearance of a number of flags at the Champions League final. Some media organisations have obviously really enjoyed this and threw in the word ‘European ban’ to spice up their newspapers.
If UEFA think that Liverpool supporters are the worst in Europe then they are clearly talking out of their backsides. Over 70,000 fans have travelled across continents for two finals alone in the last three years. The only significant problem was caused by inept security and policing in Greece and a lack of management by UEFA.
UEFA need to focus their attentions on the countries like Italy, where shocking scenes were seen last year between United and Roma, where clubs found guilty of match-rigging are allowed back in to tournaments. Countries like those in Eastern European where racism is widespread.
No football club has a fanbase consisting entirely of saints (apart from Southampton) but if UEFA had not allowed such a ridiculous ticketing allocation that allowed huge counterfeiting operations to be set up, and black market selling then half of these problems wouldn’t have occurred.
We look forward to this report tomorrow but Michel Platini and the rest of the goons of UEFA had best be prepared to face the truth of the events in Athens last Wednesday.
Post your opinion below or follow the discussion further in the forum
It is an absolute disgrace. they never did anything about lille against man u or fighting at roma and before he said we were the greatest supporters in 2005 now saying were the worst its a absolute disgrace.
JUSTICE FOR THE 96
YOULL NEVER WALK ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I tell you what if i paid my plane ticket paying and waiting for my match ticket only to get there at the entry gate and someone snatching it off me i wouldn`t want to be a fan with that club anymore.Thank god i was never a Liverpool fan.
this problem will only be resolved from within, northern irish teams on a smaller scale had this problem. the crowd polices itself, no thuggery, no stealing, and no assaults on kids. dare i say it united we stand against this vermin.
every group has a recognised marshall or steward and its simple one strike and your out, you don’t get invited back, EVER.
come on, are liverpool fans that childish that they will continue to blame uefas allocation?
yes it was a very very bad way of doing it, but thats the way it was, and that was well known before the game, many days before. people should have dealt with the situation as it was, not as it should have been.
and if you read the article about the “worst fans in europe”, it clearly states it is regarding the number of incidents, not the seriousness of each individual incident.
and billy, no the good fans shouldnt have to take the shit, but they do, fact. and liverpool as a club shouldn’t protect them simply because they are fans.
Cant believe this story Liverpool fans are worst in Europe. UEFA are to blame,i mean holding the final at a stadium which only holds 70,000,the Police in Europe love nothing better than getting the CS gas out,then run around beating fans up especially English or any other Britsh teams,then blow it all out of proportion,they will allways blame British fans no matter what happens.
What in the world is up with this..”worst in Europe”..why? only because there were too many. if anything, liverpool fans are the “best in Europe!!”
any1 memba the man united incident in lille, or wen italian fans through a flair at dida, how dare they say that. they just need sum1 to blame for the shit security and lack of facilities required
uefa couldnt hold a piss up in an ale house i was in istanbul 2 years ago and the facalities at the stadium were crap and by all accounts they were the same in athens and as for the ticket allocation in athens it was a disgrace if they had of provided adequate tickets for the geniune fans and not uefa,s fatcats there wouldnt be any problems and as for liverpool fans causing trouble uefa should take along hard look at themselves assholes
i comepletely agree that the stadium was an awful decision.
there were a series of poor decisions that led up to it, which were not the fans fault, althought some blame must be taken by those fans that did add to the problems in athens.
i am not saying that hillsborough was due to overcrowding in the stands(it was not meant to be a direct reference), but the fact that people were crushed does say there were too many people close together. yes this was due to the terrace system but still.
if too many people were allowed in then there would have been overcrowding, and therefore, crushing would be likely.
i spoke to one liverpool fan about a week ago, and when i brought this up his response was “well nobody did die.” he was completely right, but should we wait until someone does before action is taken?
i mean face it, if someone did die, then liverpool would probably get a european ban, whether it be fairly or not.
so if ALL liverpool fans can refrain from any poor behaviour, then they can take the moral highground against uefa, but right now, both liverpool and uefa appear to be at fault. you should accept the criticism (although probably not from uefa) and let others deal it out to uefa. maybe this would be a time for fifa to step in, reprimanding both liverpool and uefa, and cut short the war of words between the two parties.
Ah, Peter: the statistics…
Liverpool fans are allegedly involved in 25 “incidents” in 4 years.
How many fans we have and how many European matches we have played in those 4 years will have a bearing on absolute numbers of incidents.
M. Gaillard will rue his words, don’t worry. I really think our new owners should sue this clown for devaluing our brand. In M. Gaillard’s 5 Star world of VIP’s and hospitality money talks remember.
And Peter, next time you go to a gig, a match, a festival and there’s any trouble, I expect you will become a have a go hero and start acting like a policeman.
Are you seriously saying ordinary law abiding fans are now responsible for the behaviour of an unsavoury minority?
Ac Milan fans for the most part conducted themselves in a commendable way,only allowed the same amount of tickets as Liverpool fc but DID NOT behave in a disgraceful storming at the entry to the ground.Hang your head in shame Liverpool fc fans.I would if i was one of yous lot.Your gonna delete this so what.
Peter. The stadium was more than inadequate. It was not befitting such a sporting occasion at all.
Of course there are some idiots who follow us but a 15ft wide gate with no turnstiles is no way to police the entry to a football ground. Agree?
As for your ‘controversial part’ – I sincerely hope this was not a reference to Hillsborough. If it is, go and read a copy of the Taylor Report – the ground at Hillsborough was not overcrowded – a section in one end of the stadium was because the authorities ‘diverted’ the crowds away from empty areas to already full areas.
i dont know where they got that idea from, i think he means we r the most passionate fans.
i expect this comment to be deleted, but shall say my bit anyway.
i think liverpool fans need to look at themselves seriously.
yes, there was poor policing
yes, there was poor ticket allocation from uefa
yes, there was poor ticket allocation from the club itself
but beyond all this, the fact that SOME liverpool fans got into the stadium with either fake tickets, or by brute force, is unescapable.
simply trying to blame uefa for all the problems is naive.
liverpool fans must take a share of the blame. not all, but some, and if some, then therefore as a collective.
trying to claim that numbers makes you the best fans is silly. uefa is obviously not talking about passion, but about behaviour, which, as the statistics appear to show, is true. although they are of course, slightly objective.
and the original comment at the top that uefa allowed black market selling, come on, theres only so much they can do. at the end of the day, supply and demand, fans wanted so fans got.
the stadium was inadequate, as was the security, but security at matches should not be there to be tested, and fans were obviously trying to do.
as for liverpool fc’s apparent duty to defend their supporters, why should they? if the fans behave badly they should not be defended. any other bad incident at domestic matches, eg, missile throwing, is met by statements from clubs saying that the fans are not real fans, that they do not condone the actions of those fans. so surely they shouldnt start now.
and maybe for the final but more controversial part. liverpool fans must think of the “what ifs”. by gaining entry illegally to the stadium could have caused overcrowding, in fact, the police stopping those fans with tickets was a good safe move, although it was unfair, they had to make sure the stadium was not overfilled.
if the stadium was overcrowded, we all know what problems there could be, maybe, god forbid, there was a fatality then people would look at it with a bit more clarity.
Alex, I’m sure all Liverpool fans agree the bunkers are not without blame.
But the real point is we as law abiding fans cannot be expected to police others.
That is the responsibility of the organisers and local authorities.
We have been let down many times by inept organisation.
It took Bradford, Ibrox and Hillsborough to galvanise the authorities here. And it took a very brave law lord to judge in the fans favour.
Don’t let UEFA get away with criminal negligence and human rights abuses yet again. Do we really need another Heysel?
this report smells of a cover up or an attempted cover up, but if anything this may be a good thing for the supporters who had real tickets for athens and were refused entry. if UEFA stands by this report then it shows high level negligence in organising an event at which “the worst fans in europe” were attending.
there was bound to be trouble! did they put in adequate security? NO. there will be forged tickets and fans with no tickets! did they put on extra checks to make sure genuine ticket holders got not only in, but safe passage in? NO.
i think there will be plenty of top lawyers who would look at this statement as easy money in compensation.
the club is not allowed to sue UEFA but it could help guide and fund the battle of those fanswho did not get into athens. this may also stop this happening again and the chancers that bluffed there way would also be sorted too. their behaviour was nothing to be proud of but it was basically £1000 if you could bluff your way past a ticket operation that was inept at best.
I can’t even begin to contemplate how all those LFC fans with genuine tickets must have felt when they were refused entry. I really feel for them. They deserve to have an answer as to why this situation occurred and what lessons can be learnt. However, there are reports to suggest that a large number of LFC fans – without tickets/with counterfeit tickets/those who tried their luck by steaming the police lines/snatching tickets from fans etc – managed to get in. Surely these people are just as much to blame – no one seems to be mentioning this – their actions were despicable and completely selfish and egoistic. Is this what following football is turning into? Surely UEFA have to reflect on what went wrong and why? but for LFC fans to solely blame UEFA for the debacle is surely missing the point that LFC fans themselves, and they know who they are, should be feeling guilty as hell for depriving their comrades with entry to the greatest club competition in the world.
Can only endorse the RAWK letter.
I have some very dear Spanish friends who are Barca fans.
Their view is that English fans, especially those of Liverpool, have been demonised to such an extent post Heysel, that the authorities/police in much of Europe prefer to go in hard at the merest hint of trouble when we are in town.
I think all fans and Liverpool Football Club along with Caborne’s support should demand the criminally overdue independent enquiry into Heysel.
It may be the only way to get UEFA to take its responsibilities seriously.
It is certainly the only way we can finally lift the stigma and demonistion of our decent fans that simply want to travel in peace.
So where are you Rick? This is a post from the RAWK Blog I thought was relevant to exactly how I feel at the moment.
Hi Rick,
Firstly can we apologise for waking you. Thought it best to let you know that since the final in Athens the press has been slinging mud in the direction of fans, ably abetted by UEFA’s Official Gobshite William Gaillard.
Now no doubt you may think it’s enough to tell the Liverpool Echo that the club will “defend ourselves fiercely” in a comment a few days back, but even though Liverpool Football Club may still be run like a cottage shop, the world outside has changed.
We now live in a media-driven world of on-demand sports and news coverage; instant reporting and comment bounces it’s way five times around the world before Ian Cotton has changed the ribbon on his typewriter. Satellite broadcasting and the internet allows trenchant opinions to be instantly formed based on evasions, cover-ups and lies. It’s a painful lesson we learnt all too well following Hillsborough – and since those dark days the process has been sped up exponentially.
Lies don’t take holidays or weekends off, pop off home to see the missus or retire for some beauty sleep. They fester 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. And currently UEFA is being given a free reign to say what they want, when they want.
William Gaillard is a bullshitter of epic proportions – before the final he was praising Liverpool fans when questioned over the Athens security arrangements, stating there had been no specific problems in Istanbul. He even went on to say “The two groups of supporters have a tradition of good behaviour”. Weasel words from William, yet again. Post-final and we’re apparently the biggest rabble since Genghis Khan and his hoards invaded Europe for the medieval predecessor of the European Cup, and according to Gaillard the problems in Athens mirrored Istanbul.
Isn’t it time that Liverpool Football Club came out and defended the fans? They could start by pro-actively collating accounts of what went on from the fans as Manchester United did post-Lille and Roma. As it is the vacuum left by the club has had to be filled by the Football Supporters Federation:
http://www.fsf.org.uk/news/news0040-eventsinathens.html
We don’t want another measly statement to the local press, or a cosy chat with your favourite interviewer Garry Richardson on Five Live. We want you to take head on Platini’s corrupt organisation and counter everything they say, when they say it, where they say it. Point out the absolute shambles that most of the organisation of European away games and Finals stlll is: the crumbling stadiums where the steps are falling away from the ground underneath; the absence of basic toilet facilities; the lack of ticket checks; the bloody airports and their refugee camps; the overly aggressive stewarding and policing; the complete disregard for UEFA’s own stadium and safety regulations.
Then there’s the officially sanctioned black market that sees so many of the tickets awarded to UEFA’s “football family” and sponsors sold far above face value. And the UEFA employees themselves, who were dumping spare tickets in Athens into the hands of cocktail waitresses and hotel porters who performed above and beyond the call of duty.
It’s not your reputation being ruined Rick, it’s ours. And the UEFA shysters are being given a free reign at present.
Im going to make a banner just to show him how wrong he is !!
I think a group of disgruntled LFC fans should wait until Platini is going to a public event with his wife, one that he is really looking forward to and had purchased his tickets via an official outlet some weeks before. Then just as he shows these tickets to gain entry the said fans should rush out and snatch away his tickets. Then after a bit of pushing and arguing with the couple proceed to CS gas them in the face and batter them with some large sticks before chasing them off!!
Then in the following days papers Platini and wife can be blamed for causing the trouble by actually turning up and expecting entry with their blatently real tickets!!
Until such an event takes place he should keep his grossly mislead and obviously biased opinions to himself.
Just another sad attempt by the bungling idiots at UEFA to deflect the blame away from themselves – simply fact is the stadium in greece was woefully inadequate for hosting the champions league final. Does this dossier mention the explemplary behaviour by the thousands who travelled to istanbul whom received universal praise from turkish police and government officials ?? platini and gaillard are the biggest comedy act in world football.
I am disgusted by these comments.
Uefa are clearly attempting to divert attention away from their ineptitude and greed. I was at both finals and it amazed me how many Liverpool fans went to both, despite the lack of tickets to clubs. I don’t think Uefa know that that sort of support is what real football is all about and without that passion and pride in a club, football is just about money and business.
If that is allowed to happen, finals will be very dull and faceless. The reason why the spotlight is on Liverpool fans is because we have made it to so many european finals. There are not many teams who have replicated this success. One club that has at least equalled our European exploits is AC Milan who returned large portions of their ticket allocation and can therefore not claim the same passion.
We all know that since Hillsborough, British clubs and policing have left their European counterparts in the shade. The farce that has been the organisation of recent European finals would never happen in the UK and possibly Germany. The pinacle of European club football should be showcased at stadiums worthy of such a presitgious event and policed by authorities with great respect and exprience of such events.
People quote the Athenean management of the Olympics, but the two cannot be compared. 65,000 people turning up similtaneously for 1 event that kicks off at one time, cannot be compared to an event that spans an entire day, many different disciplines with several different starting times that atracts a slow steady feed of spectators throughout the day. You dont have to be capable of writing the Taylor report to realise that you can’t manage 65,000 fans without turnstyles. Did Uefa expreince the Athenean police bottle necking fans and instruting us to wave our tickets in the air?
How can Uefa expect tickets to be validated when you’re just asked to wave them at a copper who is sh*tting his pants becuase hes never been properly trained to deal with such an event.
I genuinely feel for the 3000 fans who were refused entry, gassed and beaten. Uefa are making their excuses and blaming Liverpool fans knowing that legally they do not have a leg to stand on.
Look up ineptitude in the dictionary and you should see a picture of Michel Platini and Uefa. It’s a pity as he was such a great player but a great player clearly does not make a great organiser.
Platini is showing his hatred against Liverpool supporters after what happen at Heysel.