 A LIVERPOOL fan who was not allowed into the Champions League final despite holding a genuine ticket has threatened to sue Uefa. Architect Paul Gregory, from Woolton, and his graphic designer nephew Chris McInerny, were tear-gassed outside the Olympic Stadium in Athens as they and hundreds of other supporters tried to get into the ground. The two men, and their friend Vicky Campbell, 29, an accountant, spent more than £2,000 to follow Liverpool to Greece but ended up missing the game. Now Mr Gregory, 53, a father of two, has written to the Uefa chief executive demanding compensation and says he will take whatever action is required to secure it. The father-of-two, who runs Liverpool firm Relocation Management, said last night: “This is not a hollow threat, I don’t care how long it takes or how much it costs, it is a point of principle.” In a letter to Uefa president Michel Platini, Mr Gregory said: “It’s the least you can do for putting our lives at risk. “If this is not forthcoming, we intend to take action against Uefa through the British judicial system, and through the European courts if necessary. It was only through good luck that Uefa avoided deaths. “As a former shareholder in Liverpool FC, I am the recipient of three tickets for the Champions League final. All are still unused as we were refused entry into the stadium. I was herded, tear-gassed, kicked and baton-charged by riot police outside the stadium for the hour leading up to kick-off and way beyond. “As the organising body, Uefa has a duty of care towards its legitimate ticket-holders in just the same way as any corporate body has towards its customers. “This duty of care extends to having systems in place to deny entry to the stadium to non-ticket holders. Demonstrably, these systems were not in place.” Mr Gregory and his friends paid £600 each for their flights to Athens and 800 euros between them for their accommodation. The tickets cost 140 euros each. The three arrived an hour and a half before kick-off, but by five minutes before the game started, they were still being shepherded through the security system. Mr Gregory told the Daily Post: “I feel like we were conned. I think they knew an hour earlier that we would not be able to get in, but they were biding their time. “We approached what I thought was the final security point, but we were stopped. It seemed like there were thousands of us still waiting to get in. The crowd was getting pressured and it was uncomfortable. It was starting to get crushed. “Then one police officer announced on a megaphone that the stadium was full. The fans surged forward, the police counter surged and let off the tear gas. “Both me and my nephew were caught with the spray. Fans behind us helped us by pouring bottled water into our eyes.” Mr Gregory and his friends gave up hope of being let in when it reached half-time and caught the metro to Athens where they watched the second half in a bar. He said: “For us, it was a completely wasted journey, and a waste of a lot of money. I feel like this is a David and Goliath battle and I will not rest until Uefa do the right thing.” Uefa were not available for comment last night. | 
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