Real Madrid have announced they will not work with UEFA to give fans their money back on their 2022 Champions League final tickets. The club feel that UEFA are not doing enough with their proposal, and thus will not refund tickets bought through them for the final in Paris.
It was a happier occasion for Real Madrid fans in Paris, as they defeated Liverpool 1-0 at the Stade de France. However the poor organisation, unsafe conditions and heavy-handed policing mired the event for many fans.
UEFA announced earlier this week that they would be refunding tickets for the final, provided fans could show they were affected by the issues.
Los Blancos released a statement on the matter, saying that UEFA’s measures were ‘insufficient’, and as a result would not be helping to refund the tickets bought through the club. They will set up a helpline for fans to directly pursue compensation through UEFA, but they asked that the organisation to ‘take full responsibility’.
The two entities are at war on a number of issues currently, not least the Superleague project. It is no surprise they have used this as an opportunity to criticise UEFA – that said, it is more than justified all the same. Below reads an extract of the statement.
Given the conclusiveness of the experts’ findings and the seriousness of the events described, Real Madrid has been holding talks with UEFA with the aim of assessing the compensation that will be offered to the fans. Our club was entirely confident that these solutions would be in line with the seriousness of the events, the extent of the damage caused and UEFA’s responsibility for them.
– Regrettably, our club believes that UEFA’s proposal, officially announced last Tuesday, is insufficient. It merely consists of the reimbursement of the ticket price, which is also subject to the fulfilment of a series of requirements, including providing proof of the time of access to the stadium.
For this reason, Real Madrid has decided not to cooperate in the restricted compensation procedure proposed by UEFA, which we ask to redress the situation and assume its full responsibility.
In these circumstances, an online assistance service will be made available in the next few days to enable all Real Madrid members and fans who experienced any kind of harm at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris to make the appropriate claims against UEFA for their personal and legitimate interests. The club will announce the details of this assistance service in the coming days.
