Almost 3,000 Liverpool fans have signed up to a series of compensation claims against UEFA for the trauma they suffered during the Champions League final last year.
It followed UEFA’s own review which concluded that it bore “primary responsibility” for drastic failures that almost turned the showpiece fixture between Liverpool and Real Madrid into a “mass fatality catastrophe”.
UEFA has apologised and announced a special refund scheme for supporters but, according to legal teams representing Liverpool fans, they deserve “proper compensation”.
Law firms Pogust Goodhead, Binghams and Leigh Day are representing fans and letters of claim will be filed within a fortnight.
Among the Leigh Day clients is Andrew Patterson, a lifelong Liverpool fan who described the devastating impact.
“It was the worst day of my life,” he said. “I still can’t deal with big crowds, I still wake up with night terrors, I can’t recount the story without tears. It’s messed me up in a big way.
“I’m type-one diabetic and the insulin I carry with me was destroyed by the heat because we were all packed in so closely together.
“So, from about two-and-a-half hours before the game I was in a really dangerous position. Then, when I was going through the gate, I was pushed against the fence, which ripped off the sensor on my arm that monitors my blood sugars.
“UEFA didn’t just ruin the day, for a lot of people, they ruined lives.”
Chillingly, the report said there were “palpable” parallels to Hillsborough, where 97 fans lost their lives, and “the different outcomes were a matter of chance… through no merit of those in charge”.
