King Alfie NO REPL AY! LEARN LESSONS OF FINAL

LIVERPOOL FC fans are among those calling on organisers of next year ’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris to learn from the “disgraceful” events at last year ’s UEFA Champions League final

Association (LDSA), was among the crowd in Paris

He said: “It was only thanks to the restraint and actions shown by [Liverpool] supporters that a major disaster and probably a death were averted No one in authority helped our disabled supporters

ALFIE Hewett extended his record as the world’s most successful men’s wheelchair singles player at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam

The world No 1 beat Martin de la Puente (Spain) 6-0, 7-5 to wrap up his fourth title in a row at the ITF 1 Series wheelchair tournament and ATP 500 event

Hewett and Gordon Reid also beat De la Puente and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez to clinch their third men’s doubles title in Rotterdam in four years

Reigning Australian Open champion Hewett, who has now won three of the four tournaments he’s played this season, said: “I hope to be back next year for number five ”

A damning independent review into the game between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France found that failings by football’s European governing body UEFA and French authorities caused “suffering for many fans” through severe congestion and almost turned into a “mass fatality catastrophe”

The tear gas and pepper spray used by police in several areas outside the stadium affected many disabled fans, says the review report, with some ending up separated from their companions and “placed into extremely dangerous, vulnerable, and frightening situations”

Cleared of blame

The review cleared Liverpool fans of any blame, after they had been previously been accused of being responsible for the dangerous levels of congestion by UEFA, French ministers and others

Now the Level Playing Field (LPF) charity representing disabled supporters in England and Wales is demanding action be taken to ensure there is no repetition of the debacle at next year ’s events

Owain Davies, the charity’s chief executive, said:

“We are pleading to the organisers of both events to learn from the unfortunate events in May 2022 ”

Ted Morris, chair of Liverpool Disabled Supporters

“The saddest thing about this is that our disabled fans arrived in Paris to attend a football festival, but at that very moment, they are in the middle of a carnival of horrors, which will leave them with longterm mental scars ”

Mr Morris also gave evidence on behalf of disabled Liverpool fans at a hearing last June as part of an inquiry by the French Senate,

He said the authorities had “treated disabled fans like animals” and the treatment they received “will be to the eternal shame of all those in authority who were there to protect us They were responsible for our safety, but they failed

He added: “One of the lessons that must be taken from the report is that in terms of making European football accessible, UEFA has much work to do

“We ask that they work with us and seek our expertise to address these injustices and give young disabled supporters from all corners of Europe hope that one day they can follow their football team in the same way that non-disabled children can

“Equality and fairness should not be a fight; it must be a right

“With the knowledge of the terrifying experiences disabled supporters experienced in Paris, this is not and should not be an impossible dream ”