Liverpool Football Club chairman Tom Werner has demanded an apology from the French government for blaming Reds fans for the chaotic scenes in the Champions League final at the Stade de France on Saturday (28 May). On Monday, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, had denounced “massive, industrial and organized fraud of counterfeit banknotes” and lamented that Liverpool “had left his supporters in the wild”.
In a letter whose local daily Liverpool Echo obtained a copy, Mr. Werner shared his “total disbelief” in the face of this “series of unproven statements on a subject of such importance”even before a thorough investigation was held. “Your comments are irresponsible, unprofessional and completely disrespectful to the thousands of physically and emotionally hurt fans”he added, saying he had received many emails from supporters “scared to death” and denouncing “a strategy seeking to assign blame to others”.
“On behalf of all the fans who have experienced this nightmare, I ask for an apology from you, and an assurance that the French authorities and UEFA will allow an independent and transparent investigation to take place.”he added, as the European football body confirmed on Monday that it was going to order a “independent report”.
