Liverpool FC Forum

by **J*o*n*D*o*e** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:21 pm

after the scenes from lastnights game and some of the horror stories that are now surfacing is it not now the right time for UEFA to find the champions league a permanent home, or atleast 3 to 4 cities that are not only able to hold the event (attendence wise) but also able to police it. lets not forget public transport and enough airports to deal with the numbers of fans involved.

how close we came to another disaster lastnight i just dont know myself, i can only go of eyewitness accounts and it was close.

we all know Uefa will do nothing except blame us the fans for what happened lastnight and yes some of the blame does lay at the feet of the fans, but its Uefa who choose the venue so its they who shoulder the responsibility to ensure its safe for visiting fans and policed properly

my own view is that its about time we either find a home for it or a select few cities, its all well and good moving it around but from the horror stories ive read not only from this final but istanbul fans shouldnt have to put up with this.

by **kunilson** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:23 pm

that would be the sensible thing to do.

but thats not the UEFA way

by **ivor_the_injun** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:30 pm

Yeah, unfortunately "sensible" and "UEFA" aren't exactly words that sit happily together.

There needs to be a real clampdown on the standard of facilities across Europe. Anywhere that doesn't meet the highest standards of safety and organisation needs to be struck off the list of potential venues. These are showpiece events, and from the sound of it we could have had coffins flying back today such was the pandemonium.

UEFA have retreated to their default position of "it's not our fault - we didn't tell the fans to misbehave", but everything about the run up to this final, and then the lack of organisation of the day itself, has been utterly, utterly botched. How Athens wound up with last night's game I have no f*cking clue.

If Gillett and Hicks want to make a mark, they'd do well to use their voices to condemn UEFA's ballsing up of the whole thing, and to press for an inquiry into the standards of policing and organisation required. These finals should be held in the best stadia known to man, but with Athens this year, Moscow next... it's actually quite frightening.

by **Emerald Red** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:46 pm

It's a good idea on in theory, but the reality is that it just wouldn't work. Obviously the country that hosts it stands to gain significant revenue from the tourism it generates. These finals should only be restricted to stadia that with a capacity of over 75k or there abouts. Anything below that, give or take a few, and it shouldn't be allowed.

A good example would be Wembely, Nou Camp, Mestalla, Bernabeu etc etc. Even Croke Park in Dublin. Though I doubt a Final will ever be held there. Be class if it were.

Croke Park - Capacity 82000+

If the stand at the other end was rounded off, it would exceed 100,000.

by **Kharhaz** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:58 pm

In interest, how many brits are on the uefa panel which decides how security should be handled during all matches?

by **ivor_the_injun** » Fri May 25, 2007 12:04 am

I must admit I know relatively little about club facilities overseas, but the simple fact is that many nations that put teams into European competition have stadiums that would've looked lethal in the 70s and 80s, let alone nowadays with the benefit of hindsight about what can go wrong at a football match.

If 5-10 stadiums fit the bill, then they should rotate between those. If many of those stadiums are in England, that's simply a reflection of the fact that we as a nation have placed safety right at the top of our priorities, which is exactly as it should be. If other countries want a piece of the CL final action, then they'll have to bring their facilities up to scratch.

Politics should not be a factor in decisions like this - it's the safety of everyday folk is at risk every time UEFA try and butter up some football federation that hasn't had a glory year for decades.

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Champions league venue - Time to find it a home

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