An independent panel report that
tells how fans experienced extreme violence before, during, and after the
European Champions League Final in Paris earlier this year has been released.
The report is based on the
written testimonies of 485 women, men, and children, and from eyewitness
accounts by international journalists who attended the game in May 2022.
Compiled by five leading
authorities in their respective fields, including Dr Patricia Canning,
Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities at Northumbria University,
the report, ‘Treated with Contempt": An
Independent Panel Report into Fans' Experiences Before, During and After the
2022 Champions League Final in Paris', details fans’ written evidence submitted in the
days after the event.
“Collectively and
consistently, fans' testimonies demonstrate the shocking treatment they
suffered before and after the match, particularly at the hands of those who
should have ensured their safety,” said Dr Canning.
Dr Patricia Canning is an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities at Northumbria University.
She is an applied linguist specialising in forensic texts and contexts. Her
work includes the investigation and analysis of police reporting, particularly
the attribution and deflection of blame through individual and institutional
language choices. She has published research on analyses of the witness
statements following the Hillsborough Disaster; a
fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield,
on 15 April 1989.
News articles
following the European Champions League Final in Paris showed that fans were held for several
hours in a bottleneck close to the ground, then again in static queues at
malfunctioning turnstiles. This latest report outlines statements from fans in
which they tell how they were subjected to unprovoked teargassing by paramilitary
police and on leaving the stadium were attacked at knifepoint by gangs who
stole their possessions.
Without protection, many who had
paid significant amounts of money for match tickets, travel and accommodation
did not enter the stadium. Mercifully, there were no fatalities, but thousands,
including children, have been left traumatised, according to authors of the
report.
“Already evident is the
longer-term impact on their physical health and psychological well-being,” said
Dr Canning. “The consequences of events on and after 28th May 2022 will have
personal and professional ramifications for a long time to come.”
Alongside Dr Canning,
authors of the report include Professor Phil Scraton from Queen’s University
Belfast, Dr Deena Haydon, an independent researcher and writer, Dr Lucy
Easthope, Professor in Practice of Risk and Hazard at Durham University, and
journalist and broadcaster Peter Marshall.
Some of the report’s key findings
include inadequate pre-match preparation by UEFA and the Paris agencies;
aggressive policing before, during and after the match; inadequate provision
for crowd safety and event management; fans left traumatised by unprovoked
assaults by the police and local gangs; abject failure by UEFA in meeting its
responsibilities.
Professor Phil Scraton featured on BBC Panorama’s ‘The
Champions League Final: What went Wrong?’ which aired on the 17th of October 2022 and can be viewed here via BBC iPlayer.
