The BBC Panorama documentary into the disastrous Champions League final highlighted the "ill treatment" fans were subjected to by the authorities.
Pogust Goodhead, a law firm bringing a group claim against UEFA about the events in Paris, told the ECHO they have heard "many shocking testimonies which echo the first-hand accounts shown in last night's Panorama". The Panorama documentary, entitled The Champions League Final: What went wrong?, analysed more than 300 videos recorded by fans at the match.
The showpiece event was marred by events before and after the match including fans being dangerously bottlenecked and crushed at the turnstiles, tear gassed by the police, and robbed by local gangs. Experts told the Panorama documentary that the fans' calm response was the main reason the overcrowding outside the stadium did not result in fatalities.
READ MORE: Report finds 'lives put at risk' by UEFA's 'failure' at Champions League final
Organisers initially blamed fake tickets and supporters but their claims drew widespread criticism. An independent review led by Professor Phil Scraton, who previously led a review into the Hillsborough disaster, was released yesterday, Monday, October 17. The panel review found : "Responsibility for the collapse in authority, management and safety, lies with those organising and administering the event.”
Some of the key findings include:
- Inadequate pre-match preparation by UEFA and the Paris agencies
- Aggressive policing – before, during and after the match
- Inadequate provision for crowd safety and event management
- Fans left traumatised by unprovoked assaults by the police and local gangs
- Abject failure by UEFA in meeting its responsibilities.
UEFA apologised to fans in June and commissioned its own independent review into the event, which will be published at the end of November. But a claim between Liverpool firm Binghams and group litigation specialists Pogust Goodhead against the football body has been joined by around 2,000 Liverpool fans.
Former LFC player Jason McAteer, who appeared on Panorama, is supporting the claim after his wife Lucy and son Harry were among those who were attacked and witnessed the troubling scenes in Paris. Lucy and Harry were robbed and physically attacked as they left the Stade de France.
Harry recalled "horrific" scenes including people "screaming" after being pepper sprayed and "parents dousing their kids' faces with water". The 22-year-old added: "I know people who will now not go to a game again because of what they saw and experienced there. It does affect you. I know for myself I would be reluctant to go to any away match now...It's been shocking since it all happened to hear of how many kids were affected.
"Dad has been contacted by families affected and is a big advocate of the legal claim. For us it's not about the money or compensation. It is about making sure that this doesn't happen again and that questions about how it did happen are answered. As a family of Liverpool fans it's just something we feel so passionately about."
Tony Winterburn, partner at Pogust Goodhead, told the ECHO: "Fans are entitled to a level of care and security while watching their team play, instead, on this day, they were met with violence, ill treatment and extremely traumatic scenes. What should have been a momentous occasion that delivered life-long memories to treasure, instead has left many with psychological and physical scars.
"Any legal action, which we will bring in conjunction with Liverpool based firm Binghams, will not just be about getting compensation for those affected but it will also be vital that they, and we, understand why this happened and, perhaps more importantly, that it is prevented from occurring again.”
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