Liverpool seek reassurances before agreeing Portuguese politician Dr Tiago Brandao Rodrigues is the right person to conduct UEFA review into chaotic scenes ahead of Champions League final in Paris
Friday 10 June 2022 07:35, UK
Liverpool officials are set to meet the chair of UEFA's review into problems at the Champions League final in an attempt to help satisfy themselves the process will be fully independent.
European football's governing body appointed the Portuguese politician Dr Tiago Brandao Rodrigues to carry out an inquiry into the circumstances which saw huge congestion issues which led to thousands of fans being locked out of the Stade de France and some being tear-gassed by police prior to Real Madrid's 1-0 win.
However, there have been suggestions Rodrigues has links to UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin and Liverpool are understood to be keen to ascertain the independence and scope of his review.
Officials also want full explanations to 13 questions they submitted to UEFA, only some of which have been partially answered, and details of which experts will be involved on the panel before they can make a decision on whether Rodrigues is the right person to lead the review.
It is understood UEFA, which has pledged unconditional access to its files and staff, has outlined its rationale for appointing Rodrigues but has not provided specific responses to the questions posed by the club.
Liverpool hope a meeting with the chair of the review panel, who will also meet Real Madrid officials separately, will provide more extensive answers.
Sources say they are keen to establish the process will be a thorough, independent and transparent investigation as they are unconvinced by the "independent review" terminology.
In the meantime the club will meet with supporters trust Spirit of Shankly on Thursday to discuss matters surrounding the Champions League final, among other things.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have called on authorities to explain why supporters were left "helpless and defenceless" at the Champions League final in Paris' Stade de France.
Real - who won the Champions League for a record 14th time - say they also want to know why the stadium was chosen as the venue for the match, which was moved from St Petersburg in February after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Spanish side said their supporters were "victims" of the "unfortunate events" that took place at the Stade de France, adding that the scenes had caused "deep outrage around the world".
Real's statement said "many of the fans were violently assaulted, harassed and robbed" and "some of them even had to spend the night in hospital".
Their complaints echo those of Liverpool, with Billy Hogan, the Premier League club's chief executive, saying this week he has been "horrified" by accounts from fans after receiving more than 6,000 pieces of feedback about issues surrounding last week's game.
UEFA initially blamed the delayed kick-off on Liverpool fans arriving late to the stadium, while Gerald Darmanin, the French interior minister, blamed "fraud at an industrial level" for the chaos at the Champions League final, saying 70 per cent of the tickets used to attempt entry into the Stade de France were fake.
Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French sports minister, added that up to 40,000 people either had fake tickets or no ticket at all and that "everyone wants to ensure this will never happen again". She has commissioned a report on the troubles.
Hogan said his response to the sports minister's claims was "disbelief", and added that he had spoken to his counterpart at Real Madrid, "who made it clear that their fans also had issues".
Hogan added: "They had major concerns with the matchday operation, including the policing operation around the match. I know they're equally concerned about making sure this, again, is an independent and open investigation."
The Liverpool chief executive added that the club wrote to UEFA again on Thursday with 13 questions that they want answering around details of the investigation into events at the final.
