A year ago, Liverpool supporters gathered in Paris for a festival of football, but instead were met with a ‘carnival of chaos’. Joe Blott from the Liverpool Supporters Association, Spirit of Shankly, and Ted Morris from the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, returned to Paris last June and became the first non-French speaking individuals to present evidence to the French Senate. Joe and Ted sought to seek truth and justice, and in doing so exposed the lies that had been put together and exonerated Liverpool supporters. They received a standing ovation from the French Senators, and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote a personal letter of apology to Morris.
Since then, much of the focus has been on UEFA and their independent report, which was eventually published in February, finding “no evidence that so called ticketless supporters or those in possession of forged tickets played any significant causal role in the problems that occurred” at the Stade de France. Joe and Ted met with representatives from UEFA shortly after the report’s publication, on the day of the Real Madrid game at Anfield, alongside colleagues from Football Supporters Europe and the English Football Supporters Association. This included UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis, and within 48 hours of that meeting, UEFA announced that all Liverpool supporters would receive refunds.
Giorgio Marchetti flew to Liverpool to meet with Morris again earlier this month – a meeting that involved a call from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Ceferin thanked Joe and Ted for their involvement in the last 12 months for working with UEFA to bring about positive change for football supporters. Some of the 21 recommendations from UEFA’s post-Paris report have already been implemented, including discussions with supporters clubs around planning for this season’s Europa and Champions League finals. The English FA have also been in touch to apologise for their lack of help in the aftermath.
Joe and Ted have seen firsthand what UEFA are doing behind the scenes and are optimistic that change will come. With three European finals in the next fortnight, two involving English teams, we have the first test of such optimism imminently. Joe and Ted have done unseen work on behalf of not only Liverpool supporters but all match-going football supporters, and it is clear that their efforts have made a significant impact.