Members of the independent panel investigating the chaos of May’s Champions League final are due to travel to Liverpool to meet supporters and club officials.
Liverpool have submitted 8,500 fan testimonies, photographs and videos to the panel out of a total of 9,000 received as the investigation into congestion and security issues outside the Stade de France continues.
A French Senate report from July revealed ‘multiple organizational failures’ around the event, which was moved to Paris after St Petersburg was deprived of the final due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“It is extremely important that lessons can be learned and that there is no repeat of what happened in Paris,” said Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan, who confirmed that a panel delegation was due to travel to Merseyside.
“It will be a great opportunity, frankly, for us to sit down with them and for them to hear directly from us in terms of our experience before, during and after the game.
“We spoke with the panel and certainly encouraged them, but I have to say they were absolutely willing and wanted to meet supporters and supporter groups.
“We certainly welcome that. I think it is extremely important that they hear from those who have been affected (by) the access, the exit and the whole experience of what happened in Paris.
Eight themes were identified from the testimonies, including congestion at access points, insufficient information on the movement of supporters, significant problems at the exterior ticket cordon control areas and interior turnstiles, tactics excessive riot policing and the emotional impact of issuing the wrong reason for the delayed kickoff; UEFA issued a statement blaming the late arrival of the fans.
