Kieran Maguire

Mon 13 June 2022 11:27, UK

Uefa and the French police will likely wriggle off the hook and avoid paying compensation to Liverpool supporters impacted by the distressing scenes at the Champions League final last month (28 May).

That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the ongoing fallout from the events in the build-up to Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in Paris.

Liverpool supporters were tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed seemingly at random as the authorities struggled to cope with the swell of fans outside the Stade de France.

The French authorities have since been accused of cover-up tactics and Uefa have issued a formal apology.

In an official update last Friday (10 June), Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan said the deletion of CCTV footage from the event was “deeply concerning”.

But Maguire forecasts that those accountable for the chaos at European football’s annual showpiece event will find a way to avoid a financial payout.

“The latest noise indicates that they are trying to brush things under the carpet,” he told Football Insider.

“The fact that a lot of CCTV footage has been deleted indicates that Liverpool fans were disadvantaged and put in very distressing situations.

“In terms of compensation, I can’t see the local or national French government being willing to pay it. I certainly can’t see Uefa doing either. This was to do with poor organisation and poor policing.

“The nature of negligence has three parts. First, do you have a duty of care? I think the stadium and tournament organisers do. Was there a breach of the care? In my view, there was. And finally, have people suffered losses as a result?

“This will be more problematic on a person-by-person basis. There is certainly a case for this but I expect the authorities will wriggle off the hook. Their fear will be setting a precedent.”

In other news, Takumi Minamino backed to explode at Leeds United after source’s £17million Liverpool reveal.