Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has hit the nail on the head with his reaction to UEFA’s plans to refund Liverpool fans who attended last year’s Champions League final.
This morning, European football’s governing body announced on their official website that Reds supporters at the Stade de France on the night in question will be reimbursed, following chaotic and dangerous scenes in and around the stadium.
Along with French police, the organisation initially tried to blame the travelling Kopites for the trouble in Paris, although a subsequent independent inquiry absolved supporters of any fault over the chaos (The Independent).
At the time, Solhekol – who was on reporting duty at the match – criticised the authorities on duty at the match for being ‘very heavy-handed with absolutely zero tolerance’ and showing ambivalence over a crush developing.
He also stressed: “I can only say what I’ve seen as an eyewitness myself, but I haven’t seen any Liverpool supporters whatsoever causing any problem at all” (Sky News).
The journalist was reflecting on today’s announcement from UEFA, in which he was highly critical of the organisation.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Solhekol said that the least they could do is refund supporters who were mistreated, adding that a reimbursement ‘would not make up for’ the lingering trauma arising from such a ‘horrendous’ experience.
He described the initial attitude of European football’s governing body in blaming Liverpool fans for the trouble in Paris as ‘shameful’ and spoke of how some of those present could be deterred for life from attending another major final under the jurisdiction of Aleksander Ceferin and co.
Furthermore, the reporter was aghast that Reds supporters were never thanked by UEFA for the restraint they showed in the face of such brutal treatment from police and security, which likely prevented a dire situation from being so much worse.
Great credit is due to Solhekol for using his platform as a Sky journalist to continue highlighting that, far from contributing to the scenes of mayhem in Paris, Liverpool fans are actually owed plenty of praise for the manner in which they handled such unwarranted provocation by the authorities.
He is also bang-on in suggesting that many of those who were caught up in the mess could be dissuaded from attending big European occasions in future, and no amount of monetary compensation will rid them of the trauma from that day and night.
The reporter has spoken so much truth in his response to UEFA doling out refunds. It’s better than nothing, but it won’t fully atone for what happened.
You can view Solhekol’s comments in full via Sky Sports.