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Liverpool FC  Athens 2007 Article


Join me in suing Uefa

May 31 2007

by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo

 

Paul Gregory, left, his nephew, Chris McInerny, right, and friend Jake Wilson, on the day of the game

A LIVERPOOL fan suing Uefa for refusing him entry to the Champions League final today called on others to do the same.

Lifelong fan and former Reds shareholder Paul Gregory, 53, missed Liverpool’s match against Milan despite having a genuine ticket.

He has written to Uefa president Michel Platini outlining his bid to take legal action against the governing body.

It is being seen as a test case for thousands of fans.

With two friends, Mr Gregory, a self-employed architect, paid £3,490 in flights, accommodation and match tickets.

He was turned away from the stadium by police, teargassed and baton-charged before watching the last 20 minutes of the game in a bar.

Mr Gregory, from Woolton, urged 5,000 Liverpool fans turned away in the same way to launch a legal action.

“I bought a ticket for an event, wasn’t allowed in and was battered from pillar to post into the bargain.

“I would encourage others to follow a similar route. If this is a test case, then so be it, hopefully others will join in.

“I have no time for the people who blagged their way in, or the Liverpool fans who knowingly bought forgeries.

“But Uefa sold a service and they have a duty of care to its customers. They have not exercised that duty of care.”

Mr Gregory, who owned four shares before the Gillett/Hicks takeover, wants the money spent on his Athens nightmare to be refunded.

As a former shareholder, he received three tickets for the final, and despite arriving an hour and half before kick-off with his two friends, the three tickets are still unused.

Mr Gregory wants to represent himself through the British judicial system but is prepared to take his case to the European courts if necessary.

Three years ago, he successfully sued Air France for leaving him and his family in Charles de Gaulle airport for three days after travel arrangements collapsed.

Richie Pedder, chairman of the Liverpool Football Club Supporters Club, said: “This will be an interesting case, and if it’s successful, other fans should go for it 100%.”

Les Lawson, secretary of the Merseyside branch of the official Liverpool Supporters' Club, said: “If he wins, it might make Uefa stop treating us and other football supporters like second-class citizens.”

No-one from Uefa was available for comment.

luketraynor@liverpoolecho.co.uk

 

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Liverpool FC  Athens 2007 Article
 


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