The legal claims of more than 800 Liverpool fans against European football’s governing body UEFA over the chaos of the Paris 2022 Champions League final can be heard in England, a High Court judge has ruled.
Serious congestion problems outside the Stade de France saw thousands of Liverpool fans penned in against perimeter fences and stuck in a motorway underpass ahead of the game against Real Madrid.
Those same supporters, who had already been targeted by local youths trying to steal tickets, were then tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed by police.
Supporters covered their faces as they tried to get into the Stade de France. There were reports of police using pepper spray
In a hearing last July, UEFA argued that English courts do not have jurisdiction to deal with the claims.
The court in Liverpool heard it relied on a principle that English courts will not inquire into the legality of the acts of a foreign government.
However, in a 38-page judgment on Friday, Mr Justice Turner, said the case could be heard in England, adding: “I have already concluded that, as a matter of English law, it is arguable that the combination of the limits of the scope of the application of the doctrine to the facts of this case as I have found them to be and the further constraints imposed by the operation of the first exception are sufficient in themselves fatally to undermine the defendants’ jurisdiction application.”
Liverpool supporters showing their tickets as they struggle to get into the Champions League final in Paris
He added that the fans say contractual claims brought by those who received their tickets from Liverpool FC “involve the imposition of an English contractual duty to take reasonable skill and care to be considered in regard to French health and safety laws and regulations as applicable to the stadium”.
In March last year UEFA said it had reached a “full and final settlement” with supporters represented by two other law firms, who had made personal injury claims, before their claims got to court.
The continuing claims concern a group of hundreds of fans, represented by law firm Leigh Day.
In 2023, an independent report found UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the failures which almost led to European club football’s biggest occasion in Paris in May 2022 becoming a “mass fatality catastrophe”.
Fans struggled to get into the Stade de France
Jill Paterson, one of the personal injury solicitors at Leigh Day who is representing the fans, said: “This is a landmark legal decision for Liverpool fans in their battle for justice against UEFA.
“UEFA will now have to answer them in the English courts.
“All football fans should be able to attend matches safely.”
UEFA Statement
“UEFA today received the English High Court judgment on a preliminary challenge to a claim brought against it by supporters of Liverpool Football Club, in relation to the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris.
“UEFA had applied for the claim to be dismissed on the grounds that it requires an English court to consider the actions of the French police and other French authorities in a way that is not permitted by English law. That application was considered at a two-day hearing in Liverpool in July 2024.
“Today’s judgment says that it is too early in the proceedings to know whether UEFA’s position is correct or not. The Judgment says that UEFA’s arguments will be revisited once more information is available.
“This is the only remaining claim brought by Liverpool fans in relation to the 2022 Champions League Final. The other two claims were resolved following discussions described by legal representatives of both sets of fans as “constructive”.
“UEFA will not be providing any further comment at this stage.”
