No blame for Liverpool fans, says Platini
BRUSSELS: Liverpool fans cannot be blamed for the trouble at the Champions League final in Athens two weeks ago and are not the worst behaved in Europe, UEFA president Michel Platini said on Tuesday.
Asked whether Liverpool supporters caused the fracas at some of the entry gates before the match against AC Milan at the Olympic Stadium, Platini replied: "No we cannot say that, we cannot point the finger.
"The issue is not that they are English or Spanish, one club or another, it is simply about fans who travel without tickets and it can be anyone."
The president added: "This is an old story. We know about this, 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. This is not the question in the end. We cannot go around saying that."
Platini, contradicting statements attributed to UEFA officials last week, also said of Liverpool's supporters: "No they are not the worst behaved in Europe. It's official, they are not the worst behaved in Europe."
Platini was speaking after a meeting with British sports minister Richard Caborn during which he handed over a report into security problems at last month's Champions League final in which AC Milan beat Liverpool 2-1.
UEFA officials had blamed Liverpool fans for causing the majority of the problems before the match, alleging that hundreds of English supporters who had no tickets or forged tickets forced their way into the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
An official said Liverpool fans had been involved in 25 incidents at away matches in the last four years making them the worst behaved among followers of clubs in European competition.
Agencies
(China Daily 06/07/2007 page23)
