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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Keifer MacDonald

Liverpool fans send clear message to UEFA in 36th minute of Real Madrid Champions League tie

A Liverpool supporters' group have expressed their outrage at UEFA for the treatment of supporters who attended last season's Champions League.

In a repeat of the encounter at the Stade de France, the Reds welcomed Real Madrid to Anfield on Tuesday in the first leg of their round-of-16 Champions League tie.

And supporters' group Spion Kop 1906, who are responsible for organising banners and displays on the Kop, unveiled a banner during the match which said: 'UEFA Liars'

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Fans also booed the Champions League anthem ahead of the game in another show of anger towards European football's governing body, before a chant of 'f*** UEFA' rung around Anfield.

Banners critical of UEFA were also passed around after 36 minutes, which is the length of time the final in the French capital was delayed due to the congestion outside.

One banner called on UEFA Aleksander Ceferin and UEFA CEO of Events Martin Kallen to resign. Another branded French Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin and Minister for Sport in France Amelie Oudea-Castera as 'menteurs' - the French word for liars.

Both Real Madrid and Liverpool fans who attended the showpiece final in the region of Saint-Denis were teargassed and penned against fences outside the Stade de France by police, with some fans failing to gain entry into the stadium despite having legitimate tickets.

Last week UEFA published the full findings of an independent review that had been launched in the wake of the event and the 220-page report, compiled with the input of experts and led by Dr Brandao Rodrigues, exonerated supporters who attended the final of any blame and labelled it "remarkable" that no-one lost their life on May 28.

Upon the release of the findings, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said: "We are grateful to Dr. Brandão Rodrigues and the Panel for this piece of work.

"On behalf of UEFA, I would like to apologise most sincerely once again to all those who were affected by the events that unfolded on what should have been a celebration at the pinnacle of the club season.

"In particular, I would like to apologise to the supporters of Liverpool FC for the experiences many of them had when attending the game and for the messages released prior to and during the game which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation leading to the delayed kick-off.

"UEFA is committed to learning from the events of 28 May, and will cooperate closely with supporters’ groups, the finalist clubs, the host associations and local authorities in order to deliver outstanding finals where everyone can enjoy the game in a safe, secure and welcoming environment."

Meanwhile, Liverpool's Chief Executive Officer Billy Hogan slammed UEFA for the "lies" they tried to instigate on the evening of the finals when they blamed a postponed kick-off time on Reds fans.

"I would say a couple of different emotions and feelings really; one is sort of just thinking back now on the event, is one of sadness that that event itself took place and those events took place and the impact that that had on our supporters, and what should have been a celebration was obviously not the event that we all expected it to be," said Hogan, speaking to Liverpoolfc.com.

"So I guess, firstly, sadness, but also really a sense of pride. If you read the report, I think it correctly found that there was no blame for our supporters, and I guess with that maybe a sense of relief, and frankly the lies that were started not even before the game had started, about the fan behaviour and that this was something that supporters caused – and that’s obviously been proven not to be the case.

"So, just a sense of pride in terms of our supporters and the behaviour of our supporters. I think if you read the report, it’s mentioned a number of times in terms of being called a near miss. And frankly, I think if it wasn’t Liverpool supporters, people might have reacted differently."

He added: "I think the history that we have as a club going back to Hillsborough really made people behave and, you know, I think the sense of our supporters policing themselves in the face of what was incredibly heavy-handed policing. I was in those crowds and I saw the behaviour of our supporters, and that’s the reason why it was a near miss and why it wasn’t an actual disaster."

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