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    9Apr, 2023
    Real Madrid REJECT UEFA’s ‘insufficient’ proposal to refund Champions League final tickets

    Real Madrid REJECT UEFA’s plan to refund fans for last year’s chaotic Champions League final in Paris, branding it ‘insufficient’ – as they pledge to help supporters file their own legal claims

    • The club released a damning statement rejecting UEFA’s compensation proposal
    • Last year’s Champions League final was tarnished by chaos ahead of kick-off
    • Real Madrid urged that they would help their fans make appropriate legal claims

    By Ben Willcocks For Mailonline

    Published: | Updated:

    Real Madrid have released a damning statement rejecting UEFA’s plan to compensate fans with reimbursed tickets in the wake of the chaotic Champions League final last year.

    The governing body last month absolved supporters of blame and accepted their own responsibility for the disarray and horror that ruined last season’s final between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

    Supporters suffered immensely from a clear lack of organisation at the Stade de France last year, and French police subsequently attempted to blame ticketless Liverpool fans for the widespread disorder.

    UEFA conducted their own investigation into the shambolic and dangerous scenes, which led to the game delaying its kick-off by over 40 minutes, and have since agreed to reimburse those who purchased a ticket.

    On Thursday, Real Madrid released a statement on their club website to insist that this offer of compensation simply was not good enough, considering the severity of UEFA’s incompetence.

    UEFA offered compensation to Real Madrid fans after last year's Champions League final chaos

    UEFA offered compensation to Real Madrid fans after last year’s Champions League final chaos

    Disorder outside the Stade de France delayed kick-off between Real Madrid and Liverpool by over 40 minutes and subsequently spoiled the Champions League final for both sets of fans

    Disorder outside the Stade de France delayed kick-off between Real Madrid and Liverpool by over 40 minutes and subsequently spoiled the Champions League final for both sets of fans

    The Spanish club - led by president Florentino Perez (above) - urged the offer to refund tickets was 'insufficient' given the severity of UEFA's incompetence in failing to organise the event

    The Spanish club – led by president Florentino Perez (above) – urged the offer to refund tickets was ‘insufficient’ given 

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    27Jul, 2022
    Super League clubs face UEFA in soccer’s big legal match

    GENEVA (AP) — A group of top soccer clubs face Champions League organizer UEFA in court on Monday for a legal match that risks the biggest upheaval in European soccer for more than 25 years.

    The Super League project failed at launch 15 months ago but the company formed by the 12 rebel clubs — now led by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus — has brought a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg.

    Judges from 15 of the 27 EU member states will hear arguments over two days with a majority of those national governments supporting UEFA.


    The clubs will accuse UEFA of alleged abuses of market dominance with control of soccer competitions that breach European law.

    UEFA’s defense is that it protects the special place of sports in European society by running competitions in a pyramid structure open to all and funding the grass roots of the game.

    A ruling is unlikely this year and will not affect the Super League clubs playing in UEFA competitions from September. Ten are in the Champions League groups with Manchester United and Arsenal in the second-tier Europa League.

    It is the Luxembourg court’s most anticipated sports decision since the so-called Bosman Ruling in 1995.

    That case upended soccer’s transfer system, drove up pay for top players and ultimately accelerated a wealth and competitive divide between rich clubs and the rest.

    Now, some of those same clubs that built revenues and global brands playing in the Champions League want freedom from UEFA control to run their own competition like an American sports league.

    SUPER LEAGUE PROJECT

    Since the 1990s, European soccer clubs used breakaway threats as leverage over UEFA to force changes to the Champions League.

    That strategy secured more entries (currently four guaranteed places for each

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