Angry minister: Uefa must provide answers

May 25 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

Champions League organisers have been called to account over the tickets debacle in Athens. Vicky Anderson reports

SPORTS minister Richard Caborn yesterday demanded an “urgent explanation” after Champions League organisers Uefa tried to blame ticketing chaos and violence on Liverpool FC fans.

He is due to meet Uefa president Michel Platini, and said he wants to know why fans with legitimate tickets to the final were barred from entering the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Wednesday.

Euro MP Arlene McCarthy described scenes of riot police attacking fans with batons and pepper spray an “utter shambles”, and formally questioned the European Parliament about policing at football matches.

Trouble flared after around 5,000 people were let into the Olympic stadium without genuine tickets, leaving around 2,000 fans locked outside as the game was about to kick off.

Fans yesterday described being “genuinely scared” and said they were “treated like cattle”, while Conservative MP Michael Howard said the danger of crushing was reminiscent of Hillsborough and there was a “large measure of incompetence”.

The chief constable of Merseyside Police, Bernard Hogan-Howe, yesterday ordered a report into what went wrong from officers who had travelled to Athens to advise Greek counterparts.

Uefa last night confirmed it is to carry out an investigation into the incident, as the British Foreign Office demanded a report from European football’s governing body and the Greek authorities to find out how to “better handle the situation next time”.

Eyewitnesses said bottlenecks formed at the stadium’s four entrance points before officials declared the stadium full and riot police stepped in to keep fans away, shortly before kick-off.

The clashes which ensued were scenes that Uefa and the Greek authorities had been warned about – firstly because only 17,000 tickets were allocated to Liverpool Football Club, and secondly because the Olympic stadium had not been built for football matches of such magnitude.

One fan, Dave Daley, 45, from Aughton, described how he was hit with a baton as he tried to get into the game 50 minutes before kick-off.

He said: “I phoned the British consulate and they said: ‘We’ve heard about this, but it’s a directive from Uefa to not let any Liverpool fans in the ground. It’s full’.

“The police told me it was a Uefa directive as well.

“Uefa are trying to blacken Liverpool fans’ names to get them out of the mire for choosing another poor venue,” said Mr Daley, who watched the second half of Liverpool’s defeat from the stadium’s car park.

It is thought around 23,000 Liverpool fans arrived in the ancient city without tickets, despite warnings.

Greek police said around 120 people were arrested for holding forged tickets.

Many fans who had got into the stadium arrived back at Liverpool John Lennon airport yesterday with their ticket stubs still intact.

TALES of muggings and of people having tickets snatched out of their hands in the clamour filled fan websites yesterday.

Supporter Philip Smart, from Fairfield, said: “At every single checkpoint, we were jostled by the police.

“It is a joke that Uefa could choose a stadium which doesn’t have turnstiles for such a huge game.”

Simon Cass, the British ambassador in Greece, was also demanding answers yesterday.

“Clearly there was some element of breakdown where those fake tickets appeared to be legitimate – that’s something Uefa must look at,” he said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We will be asking Uefa and the Greek authorities to have a look into the incident and put together a report so we can learn lessons to better handle the sit- uation next time. In general, all the Liverpool fans were well be- haved, they were a credit to LFC and British football as a whole.”

Mr Caborn said he sympathised with Liverpool fans who couldn’t get into the ground.

He said he had already raised the matter with Greek authorities, he said: “The reasons for this need an urgent explanation.

“I will also be putting this issue high on the agenda at the meeting I am to have with Uefa president Michel Platini in Brussels in two weeks’ time.”

Mr Hogan-Howe was last night meeting with chief inspector Dave Lewis, who was in Athens, and had warned about the number of fake tickets in circulation.

A Merseyside police spokeswoman said: “No doubt one of the issues in the report will be about the use of forged tickets and people arriving at the stadium without any tickets.

“Predictably, this did cause problems for the Greek authorities on the night, and the force will be discussing this with partner agencies, including Uefa.”

Arlene McCarthy, a North West MEP, said: “From the reports that are coming back it was an utter shambles and I am just thankful that no lives were lost.

“Uefa were warned well in advance of the problems with ticketing at this match.

“A situation where genuine fans with genuine tickets are left stranded outside a stadium because it has been filled with people with fake tickets is not acceptable.”

LIVERPOOL Football Club yesterday said it was liaising with other authorities to establish what went wrong.

Last night, Uefa remained insistent in the face of criticism.

Spokesman William Gaillard said: “There is no doubt some Liverpool fans are to blame and at the same time some Liverpool fans were also the victims of the behaviour of other Liverpool fans.”

He described the actions of riot police as “light fighting” and “soft policing techniques”.

He said: “Some people managed to climb bar- riers and entered the stadium when they should not have been there.”

He con- tinued by saying the behaviour of Liverpool fans should have been “more controlled”.

He said: “I want to examine the situation. In Liverpool, talk to the fans, people who are responsible for the associations and I think there should be some self-criticism on their part.”

Dr Rogan Taylor, director of Liverpool university’s football industry group, said: “Clubs have pressed too hard to squeeze the maximum amount of money from sponsors.

“They have to instruct Uefa to do sponsorship deals which bring in less money and reduce the number of tickets going to firms like Coca-Cola.

“The clubs might get 5m fewer euros between them, which they would hardly notice, but it would make a real difference to the fans if it meant 60,000 tickets were available.”

The choice to hold the final at the Athens Olympic stadium, which Uefa admitted had not been built for such large football matches, also came under fire.

He said: “Uefa has offered carrots to the less well-developed football nations, so if they make the effort to build new facilities, big games will be brought to them. It is OK to offer rewards, but Uefa must make sure the stadium is right. If it is not, then wait a year until it is.”

‘Disappointing’ number of arrests as 150,000 watch match in venues across the city

TEMPERS flared across the city as fans came to terms with Liverpool’s failure to regain their crown as champions of Europe.

Although most fans consoled each other peacefully and kept up a high-spirited atmosphere throughout the city, some let the sombre mood get the better of them leading to a ‘disappointing’ number of arrests.

Police made 65 arrests throughout the night for a range of offences, from public order to assault, as they supervised an estimated 150,000 people watching the match in the city centre’s pubs and clubs.

Chief Superin-tendent Andy Ward from Merseyside Police said: “It was extremely busy in the city centre last night and it’s disappointing that a significant number of arrests had to be made.

“The police operation did work well on the whole. Officers were able to carry out their duties in a friendly manner, but there were people intent on causing trouble. I would like to commend our officers for their professionalism on what was an extremely busy night for the force.”

Chief Con-stable Bernard Hogan-Howe has now requested a report from his Chief Superin-tendent in Athens about the behaviour of fans in and out of the stadium.