Today UEFA released their independent report on the events at the Champions League Final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at the Stade De France on 28th May 2022.
Football is often coined as ‘the beautiful’ game, but what both disabled and non-disabled Liverpool fans faced on May 28th was far from that.
Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association and their supporter group colleagues have worked hard to represent the real-life views of the fans that were caught up and affected at the Stade De France.
In the 220-page report, section 7.6 offers a detailed insight into disabled fans experience and provides a number of conclusions and observations stating that:
“The Panel has concluded that the service provision made for disabled supporters in respect UCLF22 fell far short of that which should reasonably have been expected. UEFA failed to adequately ensure the event met its obligations toward disabled supporters as set out in Article 5 of the Saint-Denis Convention.”
In the 21st century, we should not expect there to be a shortfall in the service provided for disabled supporters; there is – quite rightly – an anticipatory expectation bestowed on service providers, which means they are required to deliver an inclusive, reliable, but most of all, safe matchday environment. None of these requirements were met.
Level Playing Field once again (01/06/2022) called on UEFA to take their obligations as a service provider seriously and to ensure they start delivering against their #EqualGame message as it was clear that they fell short of that commitment.
There are over 20 recommendations in the report, and it is vital that there is clear and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders, including disabled fans, to deliver these going forward to ensure that there is never a repetition of the events we saw at the Champions League final.
UEFA has the mandate to deliver the required changes to make the game inclusive for disabled fans and safe for all; without fans, the game is nothing.
Ted Morris, Chair of Liverpool DSA: “The findings of the report and the recommendations to UEFA represent a significant and historic victory for disabled supporters. The implementation of these recommendations by UEFA will change the face of accessibility for disabled supporters in Europe forever. A massive achievement for the LDSA” You can read LDSA’s full statement via this link
Level Playing Field will continue to work with fan groups to ensure the real-life experience of fans is heard and forms part of the essential planning to ensure that disabled fans can access live sport freely and safely.