Your final warning

May 25 2007 by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo

UEFA was today facing growing pressure for a total rethink on future European cup finals in the wake of the Athens fiasco.

Thousands of Reds fans returned from Greece with disturbing accounts of the farcical security arrangements for the Champions League final with AC Milan.

But many were also condemned for contributing to a potential disaster by buying forged tickets or storming into the ground without tickets at all.

Their actions left 2,000, who had legitimate tickets, trapped in a crush outside as police shut the gates.

Today the Hillsborough Family Support Group said the combination of factors in Athens could have sparked another tragedy.

Fans queuing to have their tickets checked were pushed against makeshift fences.

Some Reds had to lift temporary barriers to escape the crushing in echoes of the 1989 tragedy when 96 people lost their lives.

The group’s Phil Hammond said today: “I thought I was going to die. We were pushed up against fences while police were wielding their batons and shields.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I’m never going to a major European final again.

“That could so easily have been another Hillsborough.”

Pressure is now mounting on Uefa to take a more realistic approach to the choice the stadia in future and the security arrangements.

The Olympic stadium, Athens, has no turnstyles, and the authorities relied on police and security staff to check tickets from cordons thrown around the ground.

The Foreign Office has demanded answers to the handling of the match, Merseyside chief constable Bernard Hogan Howe has ordered a full report from Athens team, and today sports minister Richard Caborn said he too wanted answers.

Reds fan Chris Moran, 37, from Allerton, said: “I had a legitimate ticket and there was a big crush at one of the cordons as police were telling us the stadium was full.

“My mates managed to get through, but I didn’t fancy the chaos, particularly with Hillsborough in my mind.”

Cab driver Peter Vint and his son Kieran, 11, from south Liverpool were also victims.

Mr Vint’s wife Marie said: “When they got to the ground the police were telling them the ground was full. When they complained that they had tickets they were pepper sprayed by police.”

Merseyside Euro MP Arlene McCarthy is lobbying the European Parliament for major changes to the ticketing of games.

She described the Athens debacle as “an entirely predictable and preventable situation.”

Ms McCarthy said: “A year ago, Uefa should have made sure that the Athens authorities were in a position to manage large crowds.

“But at the same time I condemn people without tickets who turned up and forced their way in.”

Dr Rogan Taylor, director of Liverpool university’s football industry group, believes English clubs and supporters must take the lead to avoid future fiascos.

Uefa came under fire for distributing a large number of final tickets to “corporate partners” rather than fans.

Dr Taylor 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 to corporate businesses.

“Fans must also recognise that if you get in without a ticket by being smart, it maybe deprives a dad and daughter with tickets of their own.

On stadia he added: “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.”

luketraynor@liverpoolecho.co.uk

Ticketless fans wereat fault says Uefa

A UEFA official today blamed Liverpool fans without tickets for the nightmare scenes outside the Champions League final.

Uefa told the ECHO yesterday that it was waiting for the security officer’s report, but spokesman William Gaillard said: “It is the behaviour of Liverpool fans that was, in the end, responsible for the problems that took place before the game, during and after the game.

“Trying to go over the barriers to get into the stadium without tickets, for example, is not behaviour we can condone.

“It is easy to say this is not a suitable stadium. But Milan supporters did not face the same problems, they did not behave in the same way.

“I am sorry for what happened to fans who had regular tickets. But, there is a collective responsibility in terms of behaviour.

“The bulk were obviously honest people who got their tickets in the right way and observed the rules.

“Unfortunately, because a minority did not, they found themselves in a very uncomfortable position.”