UEFA allegations - discussion

[Bob]

Platinin and Gaylard are useless, they make Blatter look like a genius.

****ing hell, anyONE who makes that bumbling fool a genius is really beyond repair.

The response has really what the doctor ordered... now hopefully they'll filter their way onto BBC etc 'as soon as'.

[Spionkop69]

Milan fans didn't do what we did

And yet prior to the game the police in Athens praised LFC fans and in doing so said words to the effect of, there work was cut out with the Milan fans who were rowdier!

[Jayesh87]

Richard Caborn has told UEFA to "stop playing the blame game" - BBC

[Jayesh87]

British minister tells UEFA to stop blame game
Mon 4 Jun 2007, 11:43 GMT

By Darren Ennis

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - UEFA should stop "playing the blame game" and take responsibility themselves, British sports minister Richard Caborn said as he waited to receive a report on trouble involving Liverpool fans.

UEFA president Michel Platini will submit a report to Caborn which names Liverpool as Europe's most troublesome club based on statistics compiled from international police undercover agents for the past four years.

Problems occurred at the May 23 Champions League final in Athens when fans with forged tickets or no ticket gained entry to the Olympic Stadium for the match against AC Milan, while dozens of fans with genuine tickets were refused entry.

When Liverpool fans tried to enter, the situation threatened to escalate out of control and Greek police fired tear gas and used batons.

"There have been over 25 incidents involving Liverpool supporters since 2003, some of them small, some more worrisome," UEFA spokesman William Gaillard told Reuters on Monday.

Caborn told Reuters: "This is not about UEFA versus Liverpool or UEFA versus England fans but UEFA must stop playing the blame game and stop pointing fingers at people.

"What we need to do is look at the evidence of the last season and the evidence in the report which I'm due to get tomorrow and move forward.

"This is about finding solutions, not looking back and saying what has happened but more about how to stop this happening in the future.

"I have given this message to (Liverpool chief executive) Rick Parry this morning in a phone call and I will be giving the very same message to Michel Platini when I see him tomorrow."

Parry, in a statement on Liverpool's Web site (www.liverpoolfc.tv) responded to Gaillard's comments by saying: "The shortcomings in the management of the situation in Athens were apparent to anyone who was there.

"These latest comments from UEFA should not deflect attention from that reality. What is most surprising about (them) is that on the eve of the final, Mr Gaillard quite rightly commented that Liverpool supporters 'have a tradition of good behaviour'."

Parry added: "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 Year with Alves after the UEFA Cup final.

"We produced a report for UEFA a week beforehand predicting, sadly, all of the things that did go wrong," he said.

"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."

http://africa.reuters.com/sport/news....html?rpc=401&

[keniget]

It doesn't matter now.

All people are going to read round the world is that story and believe it.

[Darth Marty]

It doesn't matter now.

All people are going to read round the world is that story and believe it.

agreed - we need a swift and full retraction and apology of that or else we should sue the ****ers big time!!!

[RedWolverine]

No doubt the vast majority of our fans are reasonable, law abiding people, but unfortunately amongst our followers we include the sort of person who would batter a Bulgarian waiter half to death and then let someone else take the rap. Perhaps that is one of the 25 incidents in the report.

The guy who did it was (I believe) and Everton fan.

[Red_Polo]

It doesn't matter now.

All people are going to read round the world is that story and believe it.

If we fight back hard enough and win, there'll be a bigger story for them to read showing UEFA to have been covering up the fact they were primarily responsible.

[StevieG08]

If we fight back hard enough and win, there'll be a bigger story for them to read showing UEFA to have been covering up the fact they were primarily responsible.

We have to fight until we get a full retraction and UEFA take their share of the responsibility for what happened in Athens. If UEFA cared then they would see that there's valuable lessons that can be learned from the farce of Athens that could improve european football in the longterm.

[disco]

We have to fight until we get a full retraction and UEFA take their share of the responsibility for what happened in Athens. If UEFA cared then they would see that there's valuable lessons that can be learned from the farce of Athens that could improve european football in the longterm.

There's no way we should expect a retraction - mutual acceptance of responsibility is required.

Uefa have to stop pointing fingers and make sure that future set-ups will prevent 99.99% of what went on, but also Liverpool fans need to police themselves better, particularly by standing up to the nob-ends amongst us.

[Red_Polo]

There's no way we should expect a retraction - mutual acceptance of responsibility is required.

Uefa have to stop pointing fingers and make sure that future set-ups will prevent 99.99% of what went on, but also Liverpool fans need to police themselves better, particularly by standing up to the nob-ends amongst us.

So you think we're the worst fans in Europe and it's all our fault then? Because that's what they're saying. If that's not true then of course we should expect a retraction.

[disco]

So you think we're the worst fans in Europe and it's all our fault then? Because that's what they're saying. If that's not true then of course we should expect a retraction.

No, if they had said that.

I thought they had said that there had been '25 incidents, more than any other club' and the tabloids have added 'worst fans in Europe'?

IMO The '25 incidents' are an irrelevance to what happened, but if accurate there's nothing that can be retracted?!

[sonsofthedesert]

William Gilliard has made a statement - was on the ticker on ssn saying that the report does not say we are the worst in europe and it was felt that this needed to be told etc, also that we have not done anything that requires sanctions - his way of saying petty incidents.

[Red_Polo]

No, if they had said that.

I thought they had said that there had been '25 incidents, more than any other club' and the tabloids have added 'worst fans in Europe'?

IMO The '25 incidents' are an irrelevance to what happened, but if accurate there's nothing that can be retracted?!

They have orchestrated the tabloid response via their skewed representation of us, it is deliberate. He can deny outright he claims we are the worst fans in Europe, but the bottom line is their false representation of us is part of a smear campaign intended to bring about exactly that kind of comment. Yes, that **** Gaillard should retract his comments, because they are deliberately misleading. To analyse the comments for a fabrication or falsity is to be naive to the way in which people create a lie. He's just reeling out self-serving comments that deliberately distort the truth, his comments ARE part of a lie.

[disco]

They have orchestrated the tabloid response via their skewed representation of us, it is deliberate. He can deny outright he claims we are the worst fans in Europe, but the bottom line is their false representation of us is part of a smear campaign intended to bring about exactly that kind of comment. Yes, that **** Gaillard should retract his comments, because they are deliberately misleading. To analyse the comments for a fabrication or falsity is to be naive to the way in which people create a lie. He's just reeling out self-serving comments that deliberately distort the truth, his comments ARE part of a lie.

Fair point. I've just been reading about how many idiots have been taking his word as gospel! Scary really.

I guess my point I was trying to make, though inopportune in this case, is that we shouldn't lose sight of our own responsibilities here.