Liverpool-Fans sind Europas Fußball-Rüpel

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Die Fans des englischen Rekordmeisters Liverpool belegen punkto Benehmen in Europa den letzten Platz. Das geht aus einem Report des europäischen Fußball-Verbands UEFA hervor, der am Dienstag in Brüssel von UEFA-Präsident Michel Platini dem britischen Sportminister Richard Caborn übergeben wird. Der Bericht wurde von Undercover-Polizisten in den vergangenen vier Jahren erstellt.

"Die Vorfälle mit Beteiligung von Liverpool-Fans sind uns wohl bekannt", meinte UEFA-Sprecher William Gaillard, der die Ausschreitungen rund ums Champions-League-Finale Liverpool - Milan "nur als jüngstes Beispiel" bezeichnete. "Was für andere Fans würden Tickets aus den Händen von Kindern stehlen? Wir wissen, was in Athen passiert ist und Liverpool-Fans waren der Auslöser für die meisten Probleme dort."

Laut Gaillard sind in diesem Report 25 Zwischenfälle mit Liverpool-Fans im Rahmen von Auswärtsspielen ihres Teams seit 2003 verewigt. Gaillard schränkte jedoch gleichzeitig ein: "Der Großteil der Liverpool-Fans macht keine Probleme."

Streit um Einlass eskaliert

Die Probleme beim Finale in Athen waren eskaliert, als sich englische Fans mit gefälschten Tickets bzw. ohne Ticket Zutritt zum Olympiastadion verschafften, während dutzende Anhänger mit gültigen Karten nicht mehr hinein durften. Als einige Liverpool-Fans dennoch ins Stadion drängten, feuerte die griechische Polizei Tränengas ab und verwendete Schlagstöcke.

Liverpool hatte in seinem Bericht über die Vorfälle die Sicherheitskräfte kritisiert, doch Gaillard hielt dagegen: "Man muss sich fragen, wieso es beim selben Spiel und unter den selben Bedingungen bei den Milan-Fans keine Probleme gegeben hat."

Liverpool-Fans waren hauptverantwortlich für die Tragödie beim Meistercup-Finale 1985 im Heysel-Stadion von Brüssel, wo in Folge einer Massenpanik 39 vorwiegend italienische Fans ums Leben kamen. Englische Klubs waren daraufhin für fünf Jahre vom Europacup ausgeschlossen worden.

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Quelle:Liverpool-Fans sind Europas Fußball-Rüpel | kurier.at

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REDS RESPOND TO UEFA ATTACK ON FANS

Rick Parry today responded to Uefa spokesman William Gaillard's scathing attack on the club's fans by insisting that his comments shouldn't be allowed to cloud over the real issue ahead of a meeting between the British government and Uefa this week.
"The shortcomings in the management of the situation in Athens were apparent to anyone who was there," insists Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry, "and these latest comments from Uefa should not deflect attention from that reality. What is most surprising about the latest comments from Mr Gaillard is that on the eve of the final, he quite rightly commented that Liverpool supporters 'have a tradition of good behaviour'.

"Let's not forget that these same supporters who Mr Gaillard is claiming are now the worst in Europe were praised by Uefa President Michel Platini after our semi-final victory against Chelsea only last month, commended for their behaviour in Istanbul in 2005 and actually honoured by Uefa at a gala dinner in Monte Carlo in 2001 as joint Supporters of the Years with Alves after the UEFA Cup final."

Richard Caborn, the British Sports Minister, is meeting Uefa President Michel Platini on Tuesday and top of the agenda is the problems that marred the Champions League final in Athens.

"I have a lot of sympathy with the Liverpool fans who paid their hard-earned money for genuine tickets but couldn't get into the ground," revealed Caborn, who is traveling to Brussels to meet Platini. "The reasons for this need an urgent explanation. We have already raised the matter with the Greek authorities through our embassy in Athens and government officials are also talking with UEFA. I will be putting this issue high on the agenda at a meeting I am to have with Michel Platini."

Of particular interest to Caborn will be why Liverpool's concerns prior to the final about fans safety and security measures to guard against overcrowding due to forged tickets were seemingly ignored by Uefa.

"To have a stadium with no counting system and no turnstiles is unforgivable for any standard of game, let alone a major final," explained Parry.

"We produced a report for Uefa a week beforehand predicting, sadly, all of the things that did go wrong. We told Uefa our intelligence suggested there were 5,000 forged tickets in existence. They knew and we knew that thousands of fans would travel without tickets and we stressed the need for a proper check at the outer cordon."

Already one Liverpool supporter is threatening to sue Uefa for compensation after being denied entry to the Olympic Stadium in Athens despite having a valid ticket. Paul Gregory, an architect and former Liverpool Football Club shareholder, paid £2,370 for flights, accommodation and tickets for the final and insists, in a letter sent to Platini, "I would like this to be reimbursed by Uefa.

"It's the least you can do for putting our lives at risk. If this is not forthcoming we intend to take action against Uefa through the British judicial system, and through the European Courts if necessary. It was only through good luck that Uefa avoided deaths."

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Quelle:REDS RESPOND TO UEFA ATTACK ON FANS