UEFA: Liverpool 'not worst fans' in Europe (after Platini update)

UEFA have compiled a dossier saying where the worst - clearly on the offensive after the Athens F**k up. The media have already latched on to this and started talking 'ban'.

F***ing press and F***ing UEFA.  I hope some of our fans are intending on sueing the arse off them.

http://www.anfield-online.co.uk/lfc-news/2007/06/03/uefa-brand-liverpool-fans-the-worst-in-europe/

mrtommos blog, gave us all an insight into what really happened out there...it was a shambles organized by UEFA, themselves...they are the ones who should be banned and maybe just maybe the mods should forward mrtommos Athens blog to them to see what us the fans, had to put up with....fcukin UEFA, Fcukin press, just trying to sell papers

Hope this doesn't affect our transfers. Interesting that UEFA have only highlighted these '25' incidents after their complete F**k up in Athens.

I hate that Platini diving b***ard anyway. F**k them.  Just like the bad old days - been in a couple of finals have we - UEFA getting sick of English clubs starting to dominate their tournaments again?

They are a joke.  I said before the final that we should have refused to have played in it unless UEFA gave us substantially more tickets - and still believe we should have held out more. 

I expect a statement from our club TODAY sticking it back to UEFA. If not then Rick Parry - what the F**k do you actually do in your job?

I cannot believe what I am reading, what a load of utter bollocks. They should look towards Italy for F***ing violence and match fixing. The only reason that they are branding us this is because of the Heysel incident and they just branded us the same from what happened in Greece.

I think wankers like this should take a look in the mirror because at the end of the day they refused normal people a place to get in to the stadium after they paid hard money for tickets, flights, and a place to stay.

This is not on, I F***ing hope every Liverpool fan that was abused outside that stadium, and not given an entry sue the F***ing shirts off their backs.

I'm fuming over this, I really am!!! 

Typical Uefa,trying to cover up their own problems and trying to turn the media against us,What a pr**k Pratini is.Uefa couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery,This report is complete and utter crap,Myself,Thommo and Leaker know exactly what happened in Athens,very little of the rubbish in our gutter press have written is true.Where/what are these 23 offenses?To sum this up the words Bull and sh*t spring to mind.!!!!!!!!!

UEFA mounting their propaganda war as they're a bit concerned about a fan suing them are they?

25 incidents in four years, the worst in Europe. Sorry, but there were more than 25 incidents in one match this season, Man Utd v Roma. Statistics can be manipulated, in this case they probably count scenes like the one in Italy as one incident, yet count one Liverpool fan hitting someone also as one incident. Plain & simple UEFA know they HAVE to win this case with the Liverpool fan or it will open the floodgates & they'll end up paying out millions.

Here's another fans account of that night I found on another forum, makes good reading.

After the miracle of Istanbul, I vowed (having been there to live the experience) that I would never miss another European Cup final.

The title of this article does not refer to the result of the game. In fact, I’m not even going to mention the game. It refers to the gross incompetence of UEFA, the Greek authorities, and violent, baton-wielding, machine-gun-armed Greek police. But let me start at the beginning..

This time, I took the missus. It was her dream to go to Greece after seeing some cheesy film starring Darryl Hannah in the 80s. A seven-night party with 50,000 scousers appealed to her sense of adventure too!

So, we set off by missing the plane from Los Angeles to New York. We’d decided our holiday had begun the night before the flight, drank till 1am, and failed to hear the 4am alarm to set us on our way. Without going into the gory details, 24 hours later having battled the idiots at American Airlines for a spot on one of their planes (after all, we’d only spent $1600 each on the air fare) and we were on stand-by on an overbooked flight to Athens. Miraculously, we got seats, and after forking out another $300 in change fees, we were finally on our way.

(note: after the treatment we received, I will NEVER fly American Airlines again.)

All went well for a couple of days, including meeting a mate of mine from the footy team I used to play for in Toronto, Canada… the famous Mark Hodder! He was literally the second person we bumped into in Syntagma Square upon our arrival.

The hotel we had was great… unfortunately it was only for one night, and we had absolutely nowhere to stay on the Tuesday or Wednesday. Nor, it’s important to note, did we have match tickets. If you thought getting them in Liverpool was bad, try it from California. I tried Ebay (which allows footy ticket sales in the US) but had only scam artists trying to get me to send them a few grand in Western Union money. No chance!!

So, then our luck changed! Due to my wife’s red LFC mini-dress, we were approached by a reporter for GMTV. Just like in Istanbul, I somehow ended up live on GMTV before the European Cup Final! They picked us up in a taxi, and put us on live with the Parthenon as a backdrop. Not only that, but the reporter called his contacts back in London, who promptly found us a hotel for both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Things were most definitely looking up!! Even better news, he assured me that 6,000 tickets had been returned by Milan, and would be going on sale at the Olympic stadium the next day – the day of the match.

Match Day – where it all went wrong

Off I went to the subway at 8am and made my way to queue at the box office. I got there at around 9am and was thrilled to see a crowd already forming… surely this meant it was true! Being about 30th in line, I took the opportunity to go and ask a UEFA official (badge, uniform, attitude) if there really were tickets going on sale. He told me, yes, at 11:30am. So gleefully I went to queue for two and a half hours and inform the others in the queue of the good news. Mine was rumour number three. Others had heard 10am and others still, 12 noon. However, the rumour of tickets seemed valid. By 11:15am there were several hundred in the snaking queue. The riot shielded police and UEFA officials seemed very happy to let us wait…. and wait and wait….. noon came and went. A Greek lad in the queue phoned someone he knew from UEFA inside the ground, and again we were assured that tickets were forthcoming. At 12:45pm – after almost 5 hours of queuing for some people, a fat lady with a posh English accent and black roly poly dress came out and categorically assured us “there would be no tickets going on sale today.” No one chose to believe her… except me. I went to find out who she was, and discovered she was the Liverpool FC ticket manager. That was enough… off I went back to the cheezy hotel, my hopes dashed.

By pure fluke, I met the lad who had been next to me in the ticket queue in the city centre 3 hours later. He’d chosen to hang on until 2pm when it was finally confirmed… no tickets. So why did the  allow us to queue for hours, give us misinformation and false hope??? They bloody knew all along!

So, off around the city it was, desperately looking for tickets – and we were willing to pay decent money. The first two offers were for forgeries at 200-300 Euros each. Nope…. Absolutely, categorically didn’t want to deal with forgeries. Not interested. At least the lads selling them admitted they were forgeries. Some semblance of ethics I suppose..

So, we finally caught up with a Greek and a Frenchman who ‘guaranteed’ real tickets for 500 pounds each. We went along with them, they produced the tickets, we inspected them. Everything looked great, the tickets looked professional and legitimate, and we handed over the dosh. It was expensive, but what the hell, we were in!!

Then I miraculously bumped into the lads I used to go to Anfield with every week who had only got tickets a couple of days earlier. Things were looking up again! The sun was shining, we had tickets, I was with me mates!

So, after another cracking sing-song in Syntagma square, off we went on the train to the stadium. Feeling very relaxed, we approached the line of riot-shielded police. It was 9:10pm.

We showed our tickets and with no problem at all, they moved aside to allow us passage. Twenty yards later, we calmly and innocently showed our tickets to the first line of security, who scanned them with ultraviolet.

Before we even knew what had hit us, the security guard had ripped the tickets to shreds and ordered us out of the complex.

We had unknowingly purchased forgeries!!!!

We were absolutely gobsmacked, because we’d tried every conceivable way NOT to purchase forged tickets, and here we were, not even through the first line of security, and ticketless.

“Come on, let’s go and watch it in the pub,” said my stunned and desperately disappointed wife. “No, this can’t be it,” I said and refused to leave. Something had to be done. We’d tried our best to play it all by the book.

While trying to think what the hell to do, a lovely, angry, nasty- Greek policeman with a machine gun screamed at us about our tickets. As we tried to explain, he pushed me back towards the riot police with the barrel of his gun, screaming for us to “get out, now!”

But we couldn’t get out. Just at that moment, it had been announced over a tannoy (I didn’t actually hear it, but have it on good authority) that the stadium was full and no one else was being allowed in. The reason we couldn’t get out, is because furious fans who had recently arrived by train (I’m guessing 2000 were still on the other side of the police line,) were being refused access, regardless of the legitimacy of their ticket. As they tried to crush their way in, there was no possible way out for us.

So, with machine-gun happy  now trying to stop legitimate fans getting in instead of threatening us, we used the chance to make our way back to the first security line. My wife (much, much prettier than me!) begged some pervy looking Greek security old fart to let us through. At the same time, a lovely girl we just met called Hannah Edwards broke down in tears as she was in the same situation as us! After hearing our story, and the girls crying and pleading, amazingly, he allowed the three of us through! The power of pretty girls on old men huh?

We were in!….. Surely!!

Excited, we started running towards the stadium which was still a good 300-400 yards away. We couldn’t believe our good fortune! But as we did so, something surreal happened. As we got to within 100-200 yards from the stadium, suddenly, there was a cavalry charge of Liverpool fans… but they were running TOWARDS us and AWAY from the stadium! It was then it hit us…. the tear gas that is.

We got the least of it, but it was still bloody nasty. Grown men fell to their knees unable to breathe. One little lad was crying his eyes out as his dad ran for cover with his son in his arms. The little guy’s face was streaming tears and water from the effect of the tear gas. They gassed us all. Dads, mums, grannies, kids, everyone! The crime? Attempting to enter a football match – and in my estimation, around 80% of those gassed (as we were the last who got in so security was catching more of the fake tickets as the crowd was much sparser than earlier) had legitimate tickets.

The reason was as before. The stadium was full. Once again, I estimate 2000 fans were refused entry, meaning around 4000 Liverpool fans in total were simply not getting in. Even by a very conservative estimate, I’m guessing that 3000 people paid legitimately to watch a game, bought their flights, hotels etc. and along with their families and friends were refused entry and tear-gassed for their trouble.

Absolute shambles UEFA and it is YOU who is at fault and responsible.

By now, we were incensed and outraged, and to be perfectly blunt, our mindset was “these bas**rds are not gonna do this to us and win.” This is not something, in retrospect, that I am proud of, but you had to be in the midst of this to understand. I don’t condone forged tickets, I don’t condone violence of any kind, but I also don’t condone being the innocent victim of those supposed to be upholding the law either. The security guard who let us in KNEW we had no ticket because we’d explained it to him. We didn’t purposely try to con our way in with a known forgery. We also didn’t know we were entering a battleground. The crushing was terrible, riot police were using their batons – thankfully not their machine guns. Irate fans were ducking under the police vans, trying to climb around them, and running up staircases where more riot police met them to engage in further battle.

Wishing to play no part in battling armed police, I looked around to see if there were any options. There was a similar staircase about 200 yards back and we sensed a possible opportunity, away from the chaos. We ran back to the staircase, away from the stadium, where there was only a smattering of fans, and along with around 30 others, vaulted the make shift security gate and up the staircase we went. We had no idea where it would lead us! It lead us along a deserted passageway where we ran like the blazes knowing that it was at least heading in the right direction of the game.

It ended at another security fence, but this one happened to be the one final step from being actually in the ground…. Riot police were everywhere, but ‘occupied’ by irate fans with legitimate tickets trying to gain access. We made our way through the fence, my wife 3 people ahead of me, and – being a girl – she of course waltzed straight past the police line and into the ground!!

I was not so fortunate. A riot-police officer had spotted me and I had another gun stuck in my chest. He yelled and screamed with the same insane anger as the first one. I desperately explained to him that I was with my wife who was in the stadium on the other side of the fence. Police then held us both by the arms screaming at us “where are your tickets?” and threatening us with guns.

Then, something very surreal happened! Out of the chaos came some old extinguished gentleman in a black suit with large decorated shiny buttons. (I swear this is true!) He looked like a member of the royal family when they’re all dolled-up for some official public showboating. He asked me what was going on, I explained that my wife was inside, we’d been tear gassed, we’d lost our tickets in the chaos and we didn’t know what the hell to do! He motioned to the police to move aside, and – amazingly - escorted me in. He then brought over the chief of police, a woman, who wanted to know our story. We repeated it, my wife trembling with exhaustion, terror, fear, nerves and tear gas – she’s American – she’s never experienced ANYTHING like this. The policewoman told my wife to relax, calmed her down, talked in Greek to the President of Greece look-alike, and… you’ve guessed it… they let us in the bloody ground!

Yes, we were in! Inside, there were three fans to every two seats. It was standing room only. Every aisle and walkway were full of fans because there was nowhere else they could fit. The back of the stadium, where fans were trying to gain access, was absolutely chocker – unsafely so. It has to be said though, the fans were great – no one was crushing or pushing. Everyone knew better. It was all very respectful and peaceful. Up near the front, we finally had some room and breathing space. As the tear gas wore off, we could actually breath too.

Once the nervous energy and shock of what we had just witnessed and been subjected to had worn off, we settled down to do the only thing we came for.
We watched the game.

My message to UEFA

The fans are the lifeblood of this game. You have a RESPONSIBILITY to hold the world’s biggest club sporting event at stadiums that can handle such an occasion, with effective organisation, policing and security practices.

This was a total and utter shambles, and you are very, very lucky that there was not another Hillsborough type disaster.

Let me try to make it easy for you, seeing as you don’t seem to be smart enough to figure it out for yourselves:

1. Use modern technology to produce tickets that are virtually counterfeit-proof. It’s done with currency and security IDs. It can be done with tickets.
2. Use bloody turnstiles with EVERY ticket being scanned manually or better still having to go through an electronic scanner just as aeroplane tickets do. Having a 15 foot wide gate with two old farts with a scanner each is an absolute joke. Those with known forgeries simply waltzed through while those with ‘real’ tickets distracted them by getting theirs scanned. As far as I could tell, the initial UV scan was the only one. Once past that with a forged ticket, you were in! HAVE A SECOND CHECK WITH A SECOND TURNSTILE just in case the first scan somehow gets by-passed.
3. Use stadiums capable of holding 90-100,000 fans ALWAYS, and allocate 40,000 to each team. That still leaves 20,000 for your precious corporate sponsors.
4. Stop that stupid lottery. It’s a tout’s paradise. Who legitimately buys a ticket to a game up to 3000 miles or more from home when they have no idea what teams will be playing in it? Your 5 million-pound black market debacle is an embarrassment to you as an organisation. Don’t you see that?
5. Educate the local police that most fans are not terrorists or criminals. They are REAL people who’ve paid hard earned money to be at what should be a life event. They do NOT deserve to be beaten, gassed and have guns pushed into their chests. The thugs, the ones who provoked trouble here, the ones who CREATED the confrontations here, were UEFA along with the Greek police.
6. Put your money and time into proper organisation and proper tickets, not in the employment of 10,000 armed riot police and untrained security guards.
7. Use stadiums designed for football matches, not athletic meets.

You know, even given the marvellous memories, the Ataturk Stadium in Turkey was a bloody joke location too, with fans having to walk miles through the desert with no toilets, no food or drink, and a 3 hour trek there and back. Two years on, UEFA had learned nothing and made an even bigger balls of it this time.

Please, do something, before YOU are the cause of the next football disaster and loss of innocent life.

All we are trying to do is watch a football match.

After Istanbul, I vowed I would never miss another European Cup involving Liverpool FC. After this shambles, I vow I will never go to another, unless I can be assured that my life, and those of my fellow fans, are not placed in danger.

Over to you UEFA.

Alex Malone

I suggest Platini reads that, and hundreds of other similar stories, before making assumptions about our fans. Treat people like animals & some of them will start behaving like animals. UEFA need to take responsibility for their mistakes, but won't due to the number of fans they'll have to compensate.

I read that article myself on TIA - a good read.  It's just so infuriating that they can get away with all this bollocks.

We do have a few scallies in our ranks but we are a massive worldwide club.  I can only think of all the great gestures such as the end of the Barca game at Anfield - the magnificent way the supporters saluted each other etc.

We have one of the most passionate fan bases in the World. Maybe UEFA don't like clubs that take 40,000 supporters. Maybe they prefer the likes of Milan who send back 5,000 tickets, take only 12,000 and enable lots of the 'UEFA' family to attend these big sporting events.

Not what I wanted to wake up to on a Sunday.

Another good post Eddie - is there an award for most interesting posts?

I know you didn't write it (of course). UEFA are a joke. I think the directors of UEFA need sacking, they need professional people that don't cover their stories up because they've done something terribly awful. Throughly enjoyed reading that, I don't ever think UEFA would look to stories like that because they would just brand it as bollocks.

They are only interested in getting their money for fancy cars, houses, and to show off. There has always been a big arrogance in the UEFA. And the controversy of this event clearly shows it.

Again - hope they get sued & sacked.

So where are you Rick? Surely you're out of bed now?  This is from RAWK Blog and sums up my feelings and is probably one of the best articles I have read for a long while.

Hi Rick,

Firstly can we apologise for waking you. Thought it best to let you know that since the final in Athens the press has been slinging mud in the direction of fans, ably abetted by UEFA’s Official gobs***e William Gaillard.

Now no doubt you may think it’s enough to tell the Liverpool Echo that the club will “defend ourselves fiercely” in a comment a few days back, but even though Liverpool Football Club may still be run like a cottage shop, the world outside has changed.

We now live in a media-driven world of on-demand sports and news coverage; instant reporting and comment bounces it’s way five times around the world before Ian Cotton has changed the ribbon on his typewriter. Satellite broadcasting and the internet allows trenchant opinions to be instantly formed based on evasions, cover-ups and lies. It’s a painful lesson we learnt all too well following Hillsborough - and since those dark days the process has been sped up exponentially.

Lies don’t take holidays or weekends off, pop off home to see the missus or retire for some beauty sleep. They fester 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. And currently UEFA is being given a free reign to say what they want, when they want.

William Gaillard is a bullshitter of epic proportions - before the final he was praising Liverpool fans when questioned over the Athens security arrangements, stating there had been no specific problems in Istanbul. He even went on to say “The two groups of supporters have a tradition of good behaviour”. Weasel words from William, yet again. Post-final and we’re apparently the biggest rabble since Genghis Khan and his hoards invaded Europe for the medieval predecessor of the European Cup, and according to Gaillard the problems in Athens mirrored Istanbul.

Isn’t it time that Liverpool Football Club came out and defended the fans? They could start by pro-actively collating accounts of what went on from the fans as Manchester United did post-Lille and Roma. As it is the vacuum left by the club has had to be filled by the Football Supporters Federation:

http://www.fsf.org.uk/news/news0040-eventsinathens.html

We don’t want another measly statement to the local press, or a cosy chat with your favourite interviewer Garry Richardson on Five Live. We want you to take head on Platini’s corrupt organisation and counter everything they say, when they say it, where they say it. Point out the absolute shambles that most of the organisation of European away games and Finals stlll is: the crumbling stadiums where the steps are falling away from the ground underneath; the absence of basic toilet facilities; the lack of ticket checks; the bloody airports and their refugee camps; the overly aggressive stewarding and policing; the complete disregard for UEFA’s own stadium and safety regulations.

Then there’s the officially sanctioned black market that sees so many of the tickets awarded to UEFA’s “football family” and sponsors sold far above face value. And the UEFA employees themselves, who were dumping spare tickets in Athens into the hands of cocktail waitresses and hotel porters who performed above and beyond the call of duty.

It’s not your reputation being ruined Rick, it’s ours. And the UEFA shysters are being given a free reign at present.

http://blog.redandwhitekop.com/2007/06/03/alarm-call-for-rick-parry/

Good post from the RAWK Blog.

'Cottage Shop' Liverpool - how very true.  They've been slow to defend the club all the time.  They should have gone straight on the offensive after the final. How dare they not do anything to stand up for the 3,000 or so who couldn't get in with real tickets. 

Fair enough there was a fair few scallies who are in my opinion a disgrace to our support and got in without legitimate tickets but it just would not have happened at an English ground with turnstiles.

That William Gaillard is a complete pr**k. Michel Platini is a gobs***e.  FFS Rick Parry - for once in your life stand up and don't let UEFA smear us yet again when they were principally at fault.

JD made a very good point at the top. Parry has to come out and defend us now. And I expect it very soon!!! Not only does this anger every true red fan today but it also places a MASSIVE tag on us all over the world as being the "worst" fans in Europe. Which will stick for a long time, whether we are or not. How dare UEFA make such a statement without thinking of a possible knock on affect of their actions! The treatment to us on future away days in europe could end up being even more ridiculous now. After all, "the worst fans in europe" will be about! That could make policing and opposite fans, just that little bit more touchy and a little bit more tense. I'm sorry but if UEFA are gonna carry on making accusations like this, labeling people, who they have already treated in a disgusting way, they can stick their european competitions right up their f**kin' a**e!!!
I'm proper fuming!!
I know I'm not a bad fan. But Mr Bloggs who supports another team isn't gonna see it that way now is he.
I EXPECT some noise coming from our club about this very soon. It's a disgrace. It's not fair to be labeled.

Our club are still unfortunately living in the dark ages. 

This is slander. Our club should come out and demand an immediate apology from UEFA or threaten legal action. Hopefully that will blow open the whole lack of organisation that UEFA is.

I'm sick of our club' name being tarnished by complete clowns. Considering the number of European tie's we have had in the past three years our support has been exemplary compared to most other European clubs.

From a Chelsea website Vital Football....

So what, another Liverpool related article. But then again it does confirm something we`ve always known or does it?

A UEFA report, due to be handed over to our Minister of Sport, Richard Cabon, this week, officially classifies Liverpool supporters as the worst in Europe!

The report reputedly mentions 25 incidents recorded by Police since 2003 that can be attributed to Liverpool supporters.

Our friend William Gaillard, the same Mr Gaillard we`ve had our run-ins with, had this to say,

"That`s the most of any team in Europe. We should all be very pleased that no one was hurt."

Referring to the Champions League Final in Athens, Gaillard also added,

"We had 102 flags in the stadium, by the time the game began there were only two left. People climbed up amid incredible danger in order to steal them and we know a majority were Liverpool fans."

Whilst it`s common knowledge that we here at Vital Chelsea have little or no time for Liverpool or its supporters, I for one though have a degree of sympathy with them on this occasion.

As someone who witnessed our own supporters being baton-charged in Zaragosa, water-cannoned in Bruges and genuinely treated like sh*t everywhere we used to go on the continent, I`d like to know when UEFA is going to address the serious issues on the continent?

Namely, the Italian scenario whereby games are having to be played behind closed doors!

The whole Turkish scenario!

That Dane from last night!

Okay, Liverpool supporters may not be angels but the worst in Europe, wake up UEFA!

Surprise surprise we get to carry the can again not those Italians who stab folk or throw flares at goalkeepers or the turks who get away with stuff time and time again F**k off UEFA and take a closer look at the bigger picture if we never had a paltry ticket allocation in Athens there would have been no bother what so ever.

I just can't believe they have been allowed to publish this so easily. I wasn't around when Hillsborough happened or Heysel, but I do have a very good knowledge about both. UEFA are putting tags on us for past events. Hillsborough was NEVER EVER our fault, Heysel was down to hooliganism. There was some decent people in the Heysel stadium that died.

But to actually make up 25 reasons why we have the worst fan base in Europe is F***ing a disgraceful remark from these bas**rds. As someone said about the Italians having their stadiums behind closed doors. Is reality compaired to what happened in Athens.

What ever happened in Athens was UEFA's fault. Not ours, bad organization and planning was shown.

They can shove their F***ing Champions League up their arses if they carry on.

haha actually find uefas rant funny, theyre pathetic.

why have the biggest match in club football in a stadium that wasnt meant for the sport? it was meant for the olympics. Of course people are going to try and get in there wasnt any turnstiles was there?

if there was turnstiles you could of got in so easily without a ticket. Uefa f*cked up themselves by givin us such a crappy amount of tickets, to people who probably arnt the slightest bit interested in football but the money.

theyre a joke.

You know what... I would love it if we won the title next season and then told UEFA where to shove their tournament the year after.

Cocks.

You know what... I would love it if we won the title next season and then told UEFA where to shove their tournament the year after.

Cocks.

Starting to go a bit Kevin Keegan there JD

This is just all part of UEFAs agenda.  I'd really love to know what constitutes and "incident".  Is one person caught bunking into a ground considered one incident in the same way as what happened with man ure in Rome could be considered one incident.  This is typical of the usual bullshit that comes from these amatuers.  They couldn't organise a farting competition in a baked bean factory the cu*ts.  Please excuse my appalling language but i do live in glasgow, a place where a guy at a football match  was so unhappy with the performance of a player that when he got subbed shouted "F***ing.........boooo!!"

Don't listen to TalkSport. We're taking a pasting off Barnsley fans, Arsenal fans etc etc. Trying to link it all to Hillsborough and Heysel.

F***ing good one sh*t house Parry. Thanks for getting out of bed today to defend us.

So frustrating all of this talk about us Reds, Parry is an absolute ar*sehole, its like someone talking about you and you cant answer back    Wish he was standing in front of me now, i'd give him what for ( and not in that sense  !! )

"The two groups of supporters have a tradition of good behaviour and at this point we are expecting that to continue." - 23rd May 2007

"The incidents involving Liverpool fans have been well known to us before the trouble at the Champions League final which involved Liverpool fans last week." - 3rd June 2007

How does that tally up?

See what happens in the next few days ay?  We deserve an apology for something that stinks of complete and utter bullshit! Rightly said earlier! Another English team in a European Final, EUFA start throwin the toys out the pram!

A post from Tony Barrett's blog. Tony is a feature writer for the Echo.

So it's official then, Liverpool fans are the worst in all of Europe.
Worse than the Italian fans who left the wife of a police officer widowed.
Worse than the French fans who held an anti-semitic rally which turned violent and resulted in the death of an officer from the Gendarmerie.
Worse than the Inter Milan fans who on one occasion launched a scooter from an upper tier of the San Siro and on another caused a Champions League quarter final match to be abandoned by hurling flares on to the pitch.


Worse than the Man United fans who clashed with riot police in Rome.
That's right, in the past four years Liverpool fans have been on the rampage across Europe and have caused more death and destruction than any of these incidents.
Except, of course, they haven't. Only in UEFA's (and the News of the World's) eyes has their behaviour been the worst in the whole continent.
Now what would make UEFA contradict everything we know to be true to come out with such an outlandish and unfounded slur?
Let me think........
Could it perhaps me that they're trying desperately to whitewash what really happened in Athens prior to the European Cup final and their own shambolic organisation?
Far be it from me to suggest it but that is what it seems like.
Apparently, they have a dossier of "25 incidents" over the last four years to prove their point but unless they can come up with incidents where the behaviour of Liverpool supporters is anywhere near as bad as those listed above then I'm afraid their dossier will be shown up to be exactly what it is - a desperately cheap shot in their increasingly nasty smear campaign.
And when their best examples of this apparently disgraceful behaviour come down to a few flags being nicked from the Olympic stadium and tickets being snatched from kids then we really are into the realms of the ridiculous.
Those who snatched tickets before the final have been condemned on this blog and by the majority of Liverpool fans. But are those who did it really worse than those who killed a police officer in Italy? Do me a favour.
What worries me most is if the roles had been reversed and Liverpool fans (or any other English fans for that matter) had killed an officer of the law then we would now be banned from Europe.
That's the way UEFA have operated for years. English fans cause trouble and they're condemned and hit with the most severe sanctions. Italian or Turkish fans cause trouble - and over a long period of time - and they're hit with petty fines.
My second big worry is while UEFA are rewriting history, no-one from Liverpool Football Club has spoken out on favour of the fans.
Now I know it's the closed season and I know everyone's entitled to a holiday but in the age of the internet and mobile phones surely it's not beyond the call of duty for some high ranking LFC official to come out in our defence.
Even from a corporate point of view - and we all know that's the one that matters most in the modern game - the Liverpool "brand" is taking a hiding.
In the absence of anything from the club, every news operation in the country is dining out on UEFA's smears. Sky Sports News - a close relative of the News of the World - keeps on running that same 15 second snatch of footage from Athens which shows about three lads bunking in as if it provides concrete evidence of what UEFA is claiming.
If Liverpool say nothing then UEFA's version of history will become the accepted version of events and it will be used against the club and its fans for evermore. Surely that provides enough motivation to provoke a response. If not, then are we to believe that Liverpool share UEFA's views of the fans?
The ironic thing is, or maybe it's not ironic when you inhabit UEFA's world of double standards, just two years ago we were being praised as Europe's finest fans in the world during the post-Istanbul glow.
That was despite the fact that this damning dossier was by then two years old and we were, as it transpires, well on our way to being named as Europe's worst.
Another irony is that just before the final our friend William Galliard was telling anyone who would listen that there would be no trouble in Athens because there was no recent history of problems involving fans of either Liverpool or Milan.
Now he's got us down as the biggest gang of rapists and pillagers since the Vikings took Europe by storm.
Could it possibly be that now he's rewriting history to cover his own arse?
All these 25 incidents that have got the Liverpool fans marked down as Europe's worst happened before the final in Athens.
So if they are so bad why wasn't this reflected in the organisation and the security for the game.
If you were told that there'd been 25 burglaries in your street then would you leave the front door wide open and turn the alarm off?
And if you did would your insurance company not laugh in your face when you told them you'd been broken into?
UEFA are having it all ways. They're now saying Liverpool fans are the worst in Europe but nothing they said or did in the lead up to the final suggested they believed this then.
The only thing that's changed since is their organisation has been shown up to be a sham and they want the spotlight pointed in another direction.
It's no surprise that they've pointed it at us because they see us as their get out of jail free card and unless someone from Liverpool FC comes out in defence of their fans then they will succeed in getting away with it.

Far more eloquently written than I could manage, it sums up my opinions perfectly, and I don't really feel the need to add anything to that.

A post from Tony Barrett's blog. Tony is a feature writer for the Echo.

Far more eloquently written than I could manage, it sums up my opinions perfectly, and I don't really feel the need to add anything to that.

Excellent post. Tony Barrett says it all.
Still no word from our club then............? Thought not. I'm feeling really let down.

UEFA ARE SCUM

If it actually hurt UEFA then we should F**k the competition off.

Liverpool Football Club should be suing UEFA for slander.  Maybe Rick hasn't received the news by that carrier pigeon our club obviously use for conducting transfer deals and the like.

I hope some of the idiots (a minority) of our support who blagged their way in to the stadium in Athens are feeling very proud of themselves.

If it actually hurt UEFA then we should fu*k the competition off.

Liverpool Football Club should be suing UEFA for slander.  Maybe Rick hasn't received the news by that carrier pigeon our club obviously use for conducting transfer deals and the like.

I hope some of the idiots (a minority) of our support who blagged their way in to the stadium in Athens are feeling very proud of themselves.

UEFA can shove it, as far as I'm concerned. Every one of us has been labeled. How can a statement like that be made without any just evidence? This isn't something small. This is something that could and probably will affect many of us over the next few months, if not longer! Looking good for anyone proudly wearing their liverpool top in europe, on their summer holidays this year, isn't it!
 
B**tards.

Was listening to this on TalkSport myself.

Thought there were good and some bad points made.

Basically we are no bad nor worse than any other fans just we have escalated more incidents as we go futher in the competition than most teams.

Although the fella who rang in claiming to be an OOT Liverpool made me laugh. I couldn't place the accent but he said it is soleley the Liverpool fans who are from Liverpool who are the trouble causers. He doesn't want to say that to loud on his next visit to Anfield.

What did make me laugh he has been a fan for 25 years and was in his mid-to late 40's. Wander who he was supporting for the first 20 odd years of his life ??

saw this today from Parry.....obviously it's late, he's just gotten out of bed, but is it enough?

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/06/04/SOCCER_Liverpool_UEFA.html&TEAMHD=soccer

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry insists UEFA should focus on their own shortcomings in their organisation of the Champions League final rather than trying to "deflect attention" on to Reds fans by branding them as the worst behaved in Europe.

A UEFA report which will be presented to sports minister Richard Caborn on Tuesday will brand Liverpool fans the worst in Europe.

European football's governing body, who commissioned undercover police agents to compile the report over the last four years, say there have been more incidents involving Reds supporters than anyone else.

The report paints a damning picture of the Anfield club's fans' behaviour at last month's Champions League final in Athens, accusing Reds fans of stealing tickets from their fellow supporters, charging the gates to get into the ground without tickets and causing trouble outside the stadium which ended with tear gas being used.

But Reds chief Parry believes UEFA's failure to heed the club's warnings about potential security and ticketing problems were to blame and felt they were now trying to pass the buck, having praised Liverpool fans before the final.

"The shortcomings in the management of the situation in Athens were apparent to anyone who was there," Parry told the club's official website www.liverpoolfc.tv.

"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 Alaves after the UEFA Cup final."

Richard Caborn, the British Sports Minister, who is meeting Platini on Tuesday, added: "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.

"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."

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

"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."

Liverpool's Lord Mayor Paul Clark has hit back at UEFA's claims in the Liverpool Daily Post.

He said: "UEFA appear to be trying to avoid the blame for the disorganisation of the final."

Cllr Clark, who attended the Athens match, added: "To make matters worse, instead of looking at their own faults UEFA are blaming the people of Liverpool.

"Saying this is typical of Liverpool fans is unfair and reflects badly on the image of the city."

Les Lawson, spokesman for the official LFC supporters' club, said: "This is typical of UEFA. Rather than look at their own shortcomings, they want to shove the blame somewhere else.

"The fact they are not willing to stand up and take responsibility is worrying for fans, because that means they will never learn from their mistakes."

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard had earlier said: "The incidents involving Liverpool fans have been well known to us before the trouble at the Champions League final which involved Liverpool fans last week.

"That was just the latest example. What other set of fans steal tickets from their fellow supporters or out of the hands of children?

"We know what happened in Athens, and Liverpool fans were the cause of most of the trouble there.

"There have been 25 incidents involving Liverpool fans away from home since 2003 and these are in the report - most teams' supporters do not cause any trouble at all."

Just seen this on liverpoolfc-newkit.com    http://www.liverpoolfc-newkit.co.uk/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?s=c987ddd51af776dd1675189ec51ae65b;act=ST;f=1;t=21756


Maybe we should consider this? Would anyone be interested in being a representative?

Looks like Rick's alarm clock didn't wake him up as early as we all expected him to.

I've just read his side of the story. But is it enough? Is it sh*te. He wouldn't come off the soft approach to end this. UEFA should be sued by our club because of the slander that they have published. Let's see how Platini reacts to this the diving b***ard.

Yet again,our good name is allowed to be turnished by these false acuations,uefa are looking to deflect the blame,from them to us.The club,the supporters have got to unite on this issue,take a stance,legal action if necessary and get a formal apology from these tw*ts at Uefa.We are the best supporters in the land,always was,always will be.We will always be RED,LOUD&PROUD,despite Uefas best efforts to blacken our good name.

this is a shame !! I live in Italy and I was there for the final. Except few minutes after the end of the match the supporters of both sides got drinks together. TV speakers said all the fun and supporter have to learn from LFC supporters for fair and friendly. Two day after the final in S.Siro MilanAC managers and the boss too still thanks LFC supporters. So they have sung "You'll never walk alone" as a tribute to the mighty reds. Who's the crap that wrote these f**** balls ??

this is a shame !! I live in Italy and I was there for the final. Except few minutes after the end of the match the supporters of both sides got drinks together. TV speakers said all the fun and supporter have to learn from LFC supporters for fair and friendly. Two day after the final in S.Siro MilanAC managers and the boss too still thanks LFC supporters. So they have sung "You'll never walk alone" as a tribute to the mighty reds. Who's the crap that wrote these f**** balls ??

What has the reaction to this situation been like in Italy then Paolo?

Just read Rick Parry's response.

One word sprang to mind. Spineless.

Very disappointed in his meek response.

It is very disappointing to see that UEFA doesn't recognized their part of resonsabilities for what happenned. We might have few bad apples in the basket but 95% of our fans are well behave and proper fans. UEFA want to blame us for their failure and it is bang out of order, anybody who knows a bit about football will be revolted by what UEFA is claiming, and it is a claim, we haven't seen the report (we could ask for a copy under the freedom information act, which I did I'll let you know what their reply will be, I also asked them that if they did not send me a copy to explain why not and which regulations they are using to prevent me to have a one) .

The testament of undercover agents of the UEFA claiming horrible things and we should take it for granted? I don't think so. I'm looking forward to see how the meeting with the minister of sports will go although I don't expect anything spectacular but at least some more precisions on what they are claiming happenned and why are we suddenly the worse fan in Europe when the continent is full of incidents with other clubs and countries (Italy, Turkey, Spain to name only a few) with racist chants, fight, murder with no such reports published which is just unbelievable.

The other point is where the hell is the FA? aren't they suppose to support English clubs in these matters, I'm not saying defending but to support..why the UEFA is going to meet the minister of sports (a political figure) when in all cases touching football UEFA claims that they have their own regulations.. it's not making sense, the minister of sport cannot change the rules of football or the way tickets are sold? even less having any impact whatsoever in the way fans are travelling?

We are the scapegoat and I certainly expect our Americans owner to step in with their lawyers if any ban or punitive measures are to be given to Liverpool FC.

Just bring it!!

for redkenny
no reactions because they have seen what kind of people use to follow LFC abroad. Papers never written nothing about it. In my opinion, and many friends of my said I have to be proud to be a liverpool fans, they tried to build another heysel. I really don't know the meaning of this attack. In Italy Florentine, Torin, Atalanta, Brescia, Milan and many others club of  second division love Liverpool his supporter nd they try to make a stand like the Kop use to be. Don't be afraid LFC is one of the biggest and famous club of the world.  

Thanks Paolo. I was just wondering what the reaction might have been like to this in other countries of Europe.

I'm still livid about this. And to be fair, I was hoping for a little more of a strong reaction, and, one a lot sooner, from Slick Rick.

who is the UEFA spokesman again NA... he is jealous because we got the best supporters!! maybe he is a Chelsea fan! ha5!

It seems at least the new owners are comming out and saying what they think of UEFA as Mr Hicks has called Gaillard a clown for his comments regarding our fans i personnaly like his honesty and without wanting to condone the actions of some fans regarding stealing tickets and the like i also like his understanding of your average reds desire to be at the game.

Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks has fired a broadside at Uefa in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News.

Hicks claims Uefa's communications director William Gaillard is a clown for piling blame on the Anfield club's fans for the problems at the Champions League final.

A Uefa dossier presented to sports minister Richard Caborn is expected to paint a dim view of Liverpool's supporters, while Gaillard has pinned the blame for the trouble in Athens squarely at the door of the travelling Reds hordes.

Gaillard said: "The incidents involving Liverpool fans have been well known to us before the trouble at the Champions League final which involved Liverpool fans last week.

"That was just the latest example. What other set of fans steal tickets from their fellow supporters or out of the hands of children?"

Gaillard's comments have stirred the fire in Hicks, as he has responded by hitting out at Uefa's handling of the Athens showpiece.

"I thought the guy from Uefa was a clown for saying that," Hicks said. "Uefa did not handle this right at all.

"To give 17,00 tickets to the two teams, particularly knowing Liverpool is going to bring 40,000 fans is insane.

"I think it is a classic case of a bureaucrat trying to take pressure off himself.

"They didn't handle it right, they didn't have proper ticketing procedures.

"Unfortunately there were counterfeit tickets and unfortunately there were Liverpool fans who paid hard-earned money and a lot of fans went to great sacrifice to get their tickets and they got to the stadium and were told there was no more room.

"Were they mad? Sure they were mad and I don't blame them."

It's good to know that we have a straight talking owner who will come out and back the fans in the way he should. I found this very refreshing and this is what the like of Parry should of done from the off considering Parry is based at the club. Nice 1 Tommy lad, now just get yer wallet out!

Both Liverpool and UEFA are to blame here, in my opinion. UEFA played the final at what clearly isn't a football venue. More planning should have went into this. More inspections of tickets etc.

But a lot of this trouble was due to the scumbag Liverpool fans (not all fans are scum). They went into the stadium with fake tickets leaving some of their fellow supporters with genuine tickets, who may have spent thousands to get there, out in the cold. What kind of fans are they?? Absoloutely no respect for others. 

Here are some videos of scenes of fans watching the match on a big screen in Athens

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bs9-9ocVUJs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xhQSuS-cmU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=AAxBzndy8I0

Absoloutely disgraceful. What kind of fans would do this. Now UEFA are partly at fault for putting the two sets of fans side by side but the Liverpool fans did not have to throw missles and flares at the Milan fans.

Both Liverpool and UEFA are to blame here, in my opinion. UEFA played the final at what clearly isn't a football venue. More planning should have went into this. More inspections of tickets etc.

But a lot of this trouble was due to the scumbag Liverpool fans (not all fans are scum). They went into the stadium with fake tickets leaving some of their fellow supporters with genuine tickets, who may have spent thousands to get there, out in the cold. What kind of fans are they?? Absoloutely no respect for others. 

Here are some videos of scenes of fans watching the match on a big screen in Athens

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bs9-9ocVUJs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xhQSuS-cmU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=AAxBzndy8I0

Absoloutely disgraceful. What kind of fans would do this. Now UEFA are partly at fault for putting the two sets of fans side by side but the Liverpool fans did not have to throw missles and flares at the Milan fans.

Sorry mate but who are you to comment on this
scumbag Liverpool fans - try Liverpool supporters who travel all over and didn't qualify for a final ticket and who really want to watch the match.
Keep your views to yourself you little pr**k

Sorry mate but who are you to comment on this
scumbag Liverpool fans - try Liverpool supporters who travel all over and didn't qualify for a final ticket and who really want to watch the match.
Keep your views to yourself you little pr**k

If you read my post then you will see that I said not all Liverpool fans are scum. The ones who paid good money to get there and were left out are the ones I feel for. I clearly said that I was condemning the fans who bought counterfit tickets.

It's time to take off your Liverpool tinted glasses....

If you read my post then you will see that I said not all Liverpool fans are scum. The ones who paid good money to get there and were left out are the ones I feel for. I clearly said that I was condemning the fans who bought counterfit tickets.

It's time to take off your Liverpool tinted glasses....

I notice your last post was nearly two months ago when you where telling us to “move on” from Hillsborough, now after trawling through You tube you have finally found some “extensive” footage of the serious crowd trouble that went on in Athens, now I by know means condone any sort of violence least of all because of a sporting event but does it not surprise you that UEFA haven’t gone on about your scenes from The Football Factory but have instead centred investigations around the stadium itself? Yes we have a minority of trouble makers as unfortunately do a lot of clubs and yes those so called fans let us down but if its severe enough we more than most clubs know they will take sanctions but funny enough they have already said we wont be facing any. If you had read the discussion properly you would know we are not happy with UEFA tagging us “The worst in Europe” because flags have gone missing at the ground and the ticketing arrangements for such a high powered organisation where turned into a circus by idiots who where that desperate to get in they would do anything even if it meant loyal fans who had paid in full missing out.
Now if you seriously think Athens and these other 24 incidents over four years (that UEFA have now said are “small”) are equal to shooting dead a policeman or riding the streets on scooters randomly stabbing victims or even as demonstrated at the weekend attacking a referee in the middle of a match then I am sorry but you are a lost cause and way beyond reasoning with.

Indeed mrtommo, I do think people have to realize alot of what happened was due to poor allocation, but also very poor distribution by the club. Season after season genuine fans miss out on tickets for cup finals. Just ask the Lads at the development association, the 2006 FA Cup final was also a joke. Fans had no option but to book travel as soon as we qualified for the final and before they knew if they qualified for a ticket, because if we had played Man Ure the would of put there prices up to a grand a flight and you could be sure of that. I do think the fans have to take some responsibility for their actions but first and fore most the blame should be pointed at Uefa for a poor ticket allocation, poor organization and a very poor choice of location for their show piece advent, The club for poor distribution of tickets for big games year after year and the government for allowing air lines and travel companies to charge extortionate inflated rates against what the cost of their travel usually is! I don't expect any of this to be sorted out though, as I'm too long in the tooth to believe in justice and I do expect the fans to take the brunt of the blame year after year.

I notice your last post was nearly two months ago when you where telling us to “move on” from Hillsborough, now after trawling through You tube you have finally found some “extensive” footage of the serious crowd trouble that went on in Athens, now I by know means condone any sort of violence least of all because of a sporting event but does it not surprise you that UEFA haven’t gone on about your scenes from The Football Factory but have instead centred investigations around the stadium itself? Yes we have a minority of trouble makers as unfortunately do a lot of clubs and yes those so called fans let us down but if its severe enough we more than most clubs know they will take sanctions but funny enough they have already said we wont be facing any. If you had read the discussion properly you would know we are not happy with UEFA tagging us “The worst in Europe” because flags have gone missing at the ground and the ticketing arrangements for such a high powered organisation where turned into a circus by idiots who where that desperate to get in they would do anything even if it meant loyal fans who had paid in full missing out.
Now if you seriously think Athens and these other 24 incidents over four years (that UEFA have now said are “small”) are equal to shooting dead a policeman or riding the streets on scooters randomly stabbing victims or even as demonstrated at the weekend attacking a referee in the middle of a match then I am sorry but you are a lost cause and way beyond reasoning with.

First of all I did not "trawl" around youtube. I discovered it on a Cork City FC forum, www.ccfcforum.com

Now I by no means am anti-Liverpool. In fact I admire your support (bar the scumbags).

I do not understand this statement "UEFA haven’t gone on about your scenes from The Football Factory but have instead centred investigations around the stadium itself?".

Now I agree that I would be angry with being called the "Worst Fans In Europe" but, no offence, ye are pretty close to it, in my opinion.

Now to answer your last paragraph, Athens was not as bad as the incidents you have mentioned. But it was a Godsend that people were not killed, due to the mis management of UEFA and so-called Liverpool fans.

If you read my post then you will see that I said not all Liverpool fans are scum. The ones who paid good money to get there and were left out are the ones I feel for. I clearly said that I was condemning the fans who bought counterfit tickets.

It's time to take off your Liverpool tinted glasses....

The ones with the forged tickets are supporters of Liverpool, the ones who didn't qualify in the ballot.
These are the ones who booked there trip to Athens beleiving they had the criteria for a ticket.
If they cancelled there trip, they would of lost all money paid out for the trip.
I would of been one of these if I never got a ticket.
Now I saw what happened out there, and if you fancy getting whacked by a baton waving riot cop then fair enough, but they had no crowd control what so ever.
There were NO TURNSTYLES, NO PROPER TICKETS CHECKS, all you had to do was stick your ticket up in the air.

No put it this way - if you followed your team, and never qualified for a ticket (tho' you deserved to) had booked your trip early - to save on extortionate prices, and had the chance to get in with a forged ticket - what honestly would you do ??
The pictures you have seen are the ones UEFA want you to see, do they show you the women and kids crying after seeing innocent people getting hit ?
The reason why they are getting hit are not from forged ticket owners pushing there way through, but from poor organisation and no crowd control.
They think that brute force was going to control the crowd. Now if people run through, trying to avoid being hit or sprayed with tear gas, what would you do with a forged ticket - just stand there

As for tinted glasses - I was there mate, I saw what happened mate, so take off your media tinted glasses !!

Now I agree that I would be angry with being called the "Worst Fans In Europe" but, no offence, ye are pretty close to it, in my opinion.

Crawl back into your little hole, grow up and come back when your voice breaks.

I would do all in my power to get a real ticket but I would never stoop so low as to letting my fellow fans suffer for what I did.

Would you really have got a forged ticket and let other Liverpool fans suffer for your actions?

But as I've said previosuly, I blame both UEFA and SOME Liverpool fans. If UEFA had organized things properly and if counterfit tickets were not made available then we would not be having this discussion.

And for your final comment, I would have though that Sky Sports (the sports news channel I'd watch mostly) would be defending Liverpool as they defended Man United, being an English channel.

I agree with your Brute force comment. It's the same thing that happened with Man United in Rome and I think it's a disgrace. I feel if they had made it there would have been casualties.

Edit: I hope you see the irony in the added bit of your post. Quite immature, in my opinion. People don't agree with you so you just attack them (which you also did in a previous post)? :

First of all I did not "trawl" around youtube. I discovered it on a Cork City FC forum, www.ccfcforum.com

But you felt the need to share your evidence on a LFC forum, did you ever wonder why fans of Cork City would put such a thing on there own website? Put it this way I wouldn't be surprised if it appeared on a Man Utd website, if you aren't anti Liverpool how about taking part in other more positive topics?

I do not understand this statement "UEFA haven’t gone on about your scenes from The Football Factory but have instead centred investigations around the stadium itself?".

I cant actually see your videos as I am in work but I am guessing as to what film it is as you mentioned missiles and flares being thrown, I am implying you see this footage as some sort of damming evidence about hooligan Liverpool support but UEFA are not even looking at anything else that happened that day but how ticketless fans gained access to the stadium.

Now I agree that I would be angry with being called the "Worst Fans In Europe" but, no offence, ye are pretty close to it, in my opinion.

Facts please, you name the incidents that make us the worst and I will reply with twice as many from Turkey, Italy, Germany, Poland, Holland and so on, yes you did finish with in my opinion but I'm afraid it's a misinformed one.

Now to answer your last paragraph, Athens was not as bad as the incidents you have mentioned. But it was a Godsend that people were not killed, due to the mis management of UEFA and so-called Liverpool fans.

Finally a sensible statement and I agree with the order you put them in 1. Uefa mismanagement 2.SOME Liverpool fans

I would do all in my power to get a real ticket but I would never stoop so low as to letting my fellow fans suffer for what I did.

What do you think Liverpool supporters did ?
11,000 tickets went to the supporters for the biggest match in Europe for League sides.
That may be plenty for some teams, but at Liverpool we have 27,000 season ticket holders, and we had over 27,000 in the first ballot of 7,700 tickets.
How much more can our supporters do in obtain a ticket through genuine measures ??
and don't even go down the route of touts.
and you wonder why I attack you when I disagree with you, I have facts - you have false opinions

But you felt the need to share your evidence on a LFC forum, did you ever wonder why fans of Cork City would put such a thing on there own website? Put it this way I wouldn't be surprised if it appeared on a Man Utd website, if you aren't anti Liverpool how about taking part in other more positive topics?

Cork people are not anti-Liverpool/English etc. etc. In fact alot of people in the county support Liverpool. And the Admin of the forum despises Man United so that would help negative Liverpool stuff coming up

I cant actually see your videos as I am in work but I am guessing as to what film it is as you mentioned missiles and flares being thrown, I am implying you see this footage as some sort of damming evidence about hooligan Liverpool support but UEFA are not even looking at anything else that happened that day but how ticketless fans gained access to the stadium.

Are you saying that the videos are from that film or are you saying that the people who started these incidents watched too much movies like this?

Facts please, you name the incidents that make us the worst and I will reply with twice as many from Turkey, Italy, Germany, Poland, Holland and so on, yes you did finish with in my opinion but I'm afraid it's a misinformed one.

I apologise for this statement as I now see it was rash, though I still feel ye have SOME bad fans. How many I do not know. Could you give me a rough idea? As in tiny minority, small minority, half and half etc.

Finally a sensible statement and I agree with the order you put them in 1. Uefa mismanagement 2.SOME Liverpool fans

I did not write them in any specific order.

Cork people are not anti-Liverpool/English etc. etc. In fact alot of people in the county support Liverpool. And the Admin of the forum despises Man United so that would help negative Liverpool stuff coming up

That is why I expressed my surprise at it being posted on your forum, dont you think it would have been better left on You tube?

I apologise for this statement as I now see it was rash, though I still feel ye have SOME bad fans. How many I do not know. Could you give me a rough idea?

Thanks for the apology, yes we do have some "boys" who follow us around but then of course every team does, and if you didn't know the lower down the divisions you go in England the more likely you are to see football violence. As for numbers sorry I dont know.

I did not write them in any specific order.
No but none the less they ARE in the right order!

As for the football factory i was saying UEFA have not took any action or even mentioned  the you tube footage, so its hardly the football factory is it?

Cork's response is typical of the understanding of the majority of football fans around the country.

Heard it all from United fans myself.  One of them had conveniently forgot around 300 of their fans clashed with Roma fans and police outside Old Trafford a couple of months ago.  And then when he had remembered he said 'Yeah. But that was just revenge.'

Anyway, Platini sh*t bag has retracted his statement today after meeting Dick Caborn.  Surely Gaillard should now be sacked if he was actually lying.

(from BBC Sport)....

Platini retracted that statement, saying: "Not they are not. It's official, they aren't the worst behaved in Europe."

Before meeting Platini in Brussels, Caborn had appealed for Uefa to stop blaming Reds fans for the ticket problems which had dogged the final in Athens.

Caborn said: "Platini wants to make sure we don't have a repeat of events in Athens. We want to learn from the past and make sure we can have safe grounds for supporters.

"I suggested they set up a working party, which was well-received by Platini, and I have offered the expertise of the Football Licensing Authority who are respected on a worldwide basis.

"They'll be looking at major European finals and I hope they can start setting some standards for clubs entering the competitions that they have to meet certain criteria."

Tom Hicks also weighed in with his version.

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks had reacted angrily to Gaillard's condemnation of fans' behaviour.

He said: "The guy from Uefa who said that doesn't know what he's talking about.

"Uefa did not handle this right at all. To give 17,000 tickets to the two teams, particularly knowing Liverpool are going to bring 40,000 fans, is insane.

"It's a classic case of a bureaucrat trying to take the pressure off himself. They didn't handle it right, they didn't have proper ticketing procedures and unfortunately there were counterfeit tickets.

"There were fans who paid their hard-earned money to get their tickets and they get to the stadium and are told there is no more room."

well, here we go...now get the sack Gaillard there cant be other options for him now...or to resign, which would be probably what will happen. Saying that he might come back on the press that he never said what he said? wont be the first time, moron!!

Just read through everyones comments on this...

I'm starting to like Hicks a lot, he brought a better approach than Rick did. He stated the obvious, and that's what I like about him. Parry was too busy trying to brown nose off Uefa so we don't cause any problems in their competition.

Just read about all the Cork City's comments and video's. Again, it was UEFA's fault to put Liverpool fans and AC Milan fans within a few feet of each other. No common sense used there. As JD said, the vast majority of Football fans will bring this up over and over.

That clown Platini and Galliard have apologized, we've hit back - twice.

I for one cannot be arsed with UEFA at the moment.

Hicks told it straight.

Parry just talked a load of bull sh*t, squirming around the issue.

I agree Jabba, I for one think Parry should have been sacked a long time ago...

It's only a matter of time.  When the Yanks are 'really' running the show they will replace him.

Spot on, his reply to UEFA was pitiful and weak.

Well Cork City F.C. before shouting your gob off you should have considered this. YOUR team are in a cup final. You've watched them all season home and away. You're a sesason ticket holder so you assume you qualify for a final ticket. Due to a ballot for only 10,000 tickets allocated to your club, you don't get one. You still travel to the final venue where touts are selling tickets outside the ground. The tickets are face value. £40. 00. You are offered two for £90. 00. At that price, probably forged so you move on. A pair for you and your mate, £ 200. 00 You buy them, how do you know they're not Forgeries. You can't scan them. You've got nothing to compare them with.  It's 20mins to kick off. The price is about right for final tickets from touts. You  get in the ground due to the lack of oficial checks. You are not aware you have forgeries, you don't know you're in somebody elses seat.You don't even know whats going on outside the ground with people who have got genuine tickets and can't get in because the grounds full. So all the genuine ticket holders just turn around and go home without any complaint, or any effort to get into the ground for which they've paid. Never mind, we'll try again next time. I DON'T THINK SO ! F***ing WAKE UP LAD, GET A F***ing LIFE.!!!!!!

Well Cork City F.C. before shouting your gob off you should have considered this. YOUR team are in a cup final. You've watched them all season home and away. You're a sesason ticket holder so you assume you qualify for a final ticket. Due to a ballot for only 10,000 tickets allocated to your club, you don't get one. You still travel to the final venue where touts are selling tickets outside the ground. The tickets are face value. £40. 00. You are offered two for £90. 00. At that price, probably forged so you move on. A pair for you and your mate, £ 200. 00 You buy them, how do you know they're not Forgeries. You can't scan them. You've got nothing to compare them with.  It's 20mins to kick off. The price is about right for final tickets from touts. You  get in the ground due to the lack of oficial checks. You are not aware you have forgeries, you don't know you're in somebody elses seat.You don't even know whats going on outside the ground with people who have got genuine tickets and can't get in because the grounds full. So all the genuine ticket holders just turn around and go home without any complaint, or any effort to get into the ground for which they've paid. Never mind, we'll try again next time. I DON'T THINK SO ! f***ing WAKE UP LAD, GET A f***ing LIFE.!!!!!!

Well put Gerns.
What Mr Cork has pointed out about "scumbag liverpool fans" buying forgeries is irrelevant really. Forgeries will always be about and have been for many years. What is relevant is the facilities should have been in place to stop the forgeries in the first place!!! If these facilities were never in place for any big global sports events, ever, then he'd be wasting a lot more of his time posting on so many other teams forums. I seen his first post as a provocation to upset rather than to debate. So I'm not gonna waste anymore time on his views.
All I'll say is this. Until he has spent massive and precious amounts of time and money, travelling around europe to support the team he loves for years and then to be treated like an animal, a leper, or a disease, by governing bodies, the police and sometimes other fans, he'll soon realise who the scumbags are!!
It's always the same for ENGLISH fans! Not just Liverpool fans.

well, here we go...now get the sack Gaillard there cant be other options for him now...or to resign, which would be probably what will happen. Saying that he might come back on the press that he never said what he said? wont be the first time, moron!!

Very funny and very true Cy! I wouldn't be surprised if he did!
Gaillard is obviously not up to the job, but then we've known that for a while now haven't we. The only slight positive to come out of his disgraceful and slanderous comments is to see Platini squerm when saying "it's official, they are not the worst"! Surely putting his boss in a position like that calls for some disciplinary action??

UEFA AGREE FINALS REVIEW

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N156112070606-1033.htm



UEFA have agreed to review their security and crowd control procedures for future Champions League finals following the problems in Athens last month.

Sports Minister Richard Caborn yesterday met with UEFA president Michel Platini, after which the Frenchman was keen to distance himself from outrageous accusations from one of his senior colleagues that Liverpool fans were the worst behaved in Europe.
 
Asked whether Liverpool fans were to blame for trouble at some of the gates ahead of the clash with AC Milan, Platini said: "No, we cannot say that. We cannot point the finger. And, no, they are not the worst behaved in Europe.
 
"The issue is not that they are English or Spanish, one club or another. It is simply about fans who travel without tickets. This is an old story. It is just that more English fans follow their clubs than those from other countries. It is not as if one set of fans are good or one set bad."
 
Yesterday's hour long talks between Caborn and Platini in Brussels were described as 'constructive', with both sides now focused on finding solutions to the problems experienced by some English fans in Europe this season.
 
Caborn said: "I suggested they set up a working party, which was well received by Mr Platini, and I have offered the expertise of the Football Licensing Authority, who are respected on a worldwide basis.
 
"They will be looking at major European finals and I hope they can start setting some standards for clubs entering the competitions that they have to meet certain criteria."
 
Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry was also pleased to hear that a positive way forward was now on the agenda.
 
"I was in close dialogue with Richard Caborn both before and after the meeting and am pleased that he has kept us informed throughout," he said.
 
"We obviously welcome Mr Platini's comments regarding our supporters and the fact that a constructive way ahead has been agreed which should benefit fans from all clubs."

Just that last bit about what Rick Parry said, he's again brown nosing Platini's arse along with his colleagues. I don't think we should ever forgive UEFA (as fans) for slamming a huge tag on EVERY Liverpool fan out there, claiming we are the worst fans in Europe. These accusations make me furious.

And Cork City, you can shove your videos. Don't come on here prancing around with Liverpool fans caught in a little bit of a tangle with Milan fans because of they were in within a few yards of each other.

Still angry - whats your opinions?

And now, the latest, the UEFA report listing these 25 incidents is to be kept 'confidential'.

Let's recap.

1. 'We were the worst in Europe' - '25 incidents involving Liverpool fans' - Gaillard
2. There will be no punishments for us - UEFA Spokesman
3. 'We are definitely not the worst in Europe' - Michel Platini
4. The report is confidential - UEFA spokesman

The word bullshit was invented for such things as UEFA's handling of itself in the last few days.

(From the Echo...)

Uefa report on Reds fans is ‘confidential’Jun 6 2007
 
by Mike Hornby, Liverpool Echo
 
UEFA’S so-called dossier on Liverpool fans may never see the light of day.

The document was finally presented to sports minister Richard Caborn yesterday by Uefa president Michel Platini.

But no-one was prepared to give details of the alleged 25 incidents involving Reds’ supporters in Europe, on the grounds that the report was confidential.

A chastened Uefa spokesman, William Gaillard, tried to set the record straight, admitting Liverpool fans were not “the worst behaved in Europe”.

But he stopped short of apologising for the leaked report.


Uefa pledged yesterday to use English expertise to try to avoid the problems encountered this season.


They intend to set up a working party to look into suitable venues for major European finals and Mr Caborn offered them help from the Football Licensing Authority, the body set up in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster.


Mr Caborn said: “I told Uefa that there was no point in playing the blame game. We have to move on. I wanted assurances that Athens would not be repeated and that never again would any fans be put in this position. I got that assurance.”


Another outcome appears to be that the report into Liverpool fans’ behaviour may now never see the light of day.


Mr Caborn said: “The report was given to us on a confidential basis and we will respect that confidence.


“Reds fans may feel aggrieved, but we think they will agree that we have got a good result.”


Privately, ministers and civil servants in the department of culture, media and sport blame Uefa's organisation rather than Reds fans for the chaos.


But they accept there will be no post mortem on the slur report provided Uefa delivers on its promises.


Today, it emerged Liverpool supporters are planning to force Uefa to hand over documents relating to the Athens safety scare.


Lawyers representing fans suing the organisation said they planned to demand disclosure of documents to build up a “minute by minute” account of how the chaos unfolded.


More than 20 fans have now joined the legal action, demanding compensation after spending thousands of pounds on flights and tickets, only to be refused entry to the ground.


FLA influence is welcomed


PHIL Hammond, of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, welcomed news that the Football Licensing Authority will play a more active role in the organisation of big European games.


He said: “It is good news that the FLA will have some influence because they have done a lot of good.


“But who is going to be on this working party? Heaven forbid it should be Gaillard or some other executives whose only experience of football is from the directors’ box.


“It should be real fans, who save up to go to these games and know what the issues are.


“I was disappointed for Liverpool supporters that Platini didn’t apologise and Gaillard has not been sacked. Who is going to believe anything he says now?”

What do you think Liverpool supporters did ?
11,000 tickets went to the supporters for the biggest match in Europe for League sides.
That may be plenty for some teams, but at Liverpool we have 27,000 season ticket holders, and we had over 27,000 in the first ballot of 7,700 tickets.
How much more can our supporters do in obtain a ticket through genuine measures ??
and don't even go down the route of touts.
and you wonder why I attack you when I disagree with you, I have facts - you have false opinions

Doesn't the videos I linked count?


And to the other fellas here, Gerns in particular. It depends what final you are on about. A Champions League final ticket would sell for a lot more than £90 so I would assume that that was fake. I would prefer not to pay a tout anyway. It's not as if my club will get the money. It will just go straight into his back pocket.

And as for the fans with the genuine tickets, those are not the people who I am blaming. It is the people who bought forgeries. If they did not buy them, then the fans in possesion of genuine tickets would have been aloud in.

And I am also blaming UEFA for their bad planning. But it is outside their power to stop tickets being copied. It's not as if they can check everyone to see if they are copying tickets.

By the way, did Gaillard say that Liverpool had great fans before the game and terrible fans afterwards?

Cork. You're not a Liverpool supporter. You probably have no hope of ever supporting you're team in a European Cup Final. So,

at Istanbul GENUINE tickets were on sale outside the ground for face value - £40, £50.

How on earth can you blame Liverpool fans for unknowingly buying forgeries for around £300 / £400?

well, here we go...now get the sack Gaillard there cant be other options for him now...or to resign, which would be probably what will happen. Saying that he might come back on the press that he never said what he said? wont be the first time, moron!!

Well Cy, how right you were mate!
Radio City news reporter Julia Bold has been trying to get a small interview with Gaillard since his comments about us and she finally tracked him down. Radio City have put the interview on their website for anyone to listen to. What a joke!!! Have a listen to this and laugh at how ridiculous he's proved himself to be.
Just click on the play button to listen:

Click here

Very good link there redkenny, thanks for that. It just show how little the man is saying " I never said that" is a pure lie! How can he possibly saying that he didnt said that! and also the fact to hang up show a blatant disrespect to first the person who interview him, good work and to all Liverpool fan..in all like I said a moron...

Galliard is an absolutey spineless w**ker, hiding behind his bullshit 'nothing more to say' bollocks. 
This man piece of sh*t is obviously at home in the circus that is UEFA, pity he can't be thrown to the tigers at Knowsley Safari Park. They would almost certainly turn away from this tasteless shitforbrains.
 I hear this worst fans in Europe bollocks from a chav at work. I remind him that their fans are amongst the worst in Europe for these reasons:

1. Firstly you have to support a club that actually gets into European Finals to aspire to be the best..
2. Plastic flags handed out at a Euro semi doesn't make you great fans, it was a cheap stunt that lacked class.
3. Their stadium on matchday is like the surface of the moon - there is no atmosphere there. Unless Liverpool are in town. 

So are we the worst or the best? 40,000 fans in Athens, 1000's in the UK and abroad, AC Milan returning ticket allocations and chavs not needing passports for a final that they can't get into, again. All the while Liverpool FC is Never Walking Alone and unless you have lost your senses you will see and hear that we have the best fans in Europe by far!

And just another thought, it's all silly name calling reminiscent of a school playground.
Sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us...
If it doesn't break you it makes you stronger...
It's the rough with the smooth scenario - The toughest and strongest fighters are exactly that because they have a spine, a backbone and deal with whatever sh*t is thrown at them.
Liverpool FC and it's fans and Scousers in general have a reputation for rising above adversity and while others may take pot shots at us we will always overcome and rise above it, YNWA

Cork. You're not a Liverpool supporter. You probably have no hope of ever supporting you're team in a European Cup Final. So,

at Istanbul GENUINE tickets were on sale outside the ground for face value - £40, £50.

How on earth can you blame Liverpool fans for unknowingly buying forgeries for around £300 / £400?

The eircom League of Ireland and Cork City have taken strides in Europe over the past couple of years, so I am in hope that I will cheer my team on in the Champions League Final, someday. But I know that's not the point your trying to make.

I did not know that genuine tickets were on sale outside the stadium in Istanbul for face value. And I apologise to the Liverpool fans who I have blamed if they had unknowingly bought fake tickets. But, people were warned that forgeries would be on sale for a couple of hundred pounds.

1. Firstly you have to support a club that actually gets into European Finals to aspire to be the best..

That's not nessecarily true. What about the fans that spend a lot of money and organize big displays but did not make a European Final?

2. Plastic flags handed out at a Euro semi doesn't make you great fans, it was a cheap stunt that lacked class.

I agree with this. I would expect a game of such magnitude to ahve something better, since they have a lot of fans surely they could have afforded much more.

Quote from: RED1028 on Today at 02:13:23
1. Firstly you have to support a club that actually gets into European Finals to aspire to be the best..

That's not nessecarily true. What about the fans that spend a lot of money and organize big displays but did not make a European Final?
It is an easy way to wind a chav up - They can go round shouting worst fans in Europe to someone who supports the best British team in Europe with the best support as was evident from the thousands that turn up and payed up then, unless they know the true facts, they are obviously talking sh*te.

And before you say anything else on the subject I will - there were those who didn't get a chance to pay up but not for the want of being there and trying. Frustration got the better of those who did pay up and couldn't get in - and who can blame them (seems like everyone not supporting LFC )
Frustration also got the better of those who wanted to pay up but couldn't and a minority who cheated other fans at the risk of their own morales should be truly ashamed of themselves and the bad attention they brought to Liverpool FC and it fans as a collective.

There is not really a lot more to say, they are the facts and decent people can see that quite clearly. I pity those who can't.