European football’s governing body UEFA has asked England’s High Court to throw out lawsuits brought by more 1,000 Liverpool fans who attended the 2022 Champions League final in Paris for personal injuries allegedly caused by chaos outside the stadium.
The case against UEFA and UEFA Events, which was filed last year, was brought following mayhem outside the Stade de France before the match, which was delayed for over 30 minutes.
French police was filmed using tear gas on fans, who complained of heavy-handed treatment as they were herded into pens outside the stadium.
An independent review of incidents outside the stadium found that UEFA was responsible for a “large number of near misses that nearly led to disaster” before the final, which Real Madrid won 1-0.
UEFA settled with a group of Liverpool fans in March, but a separate case being brought on behalf of around 1,200 others continues at the High Court.
At a preliminary hearing on Thursday, UEFA’s lawyers asked the court to adjourn a hearing due to take place later this month, at which UEFA will ask for the cases to be thrown out.
UEFA’s lawyer Shaheed Fatima said in court documents that the case could not continue because it will require the court “to make findings as to the lawfulness or unlawfulness ... of the French state”.
Judge Edward Pepperall ruled that the hearing of UEFA’s application to end the cases should go ahead on June 27.
UEFA had initially blamed the Merseyside club’s fans for the chaos, before apologising following the release of an independent review last year.
The body later set up a refund scheme, however Real Madrid described it as “insufficient” and declined to contribute.
UEFA also began a series of measures for the next finals, including increasing the number of security officers and involving fans in the planning and execution.
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