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– Nearly 900 Liverpool fans who attended last year’s Champions League final in Paris have filed legal action against European football’s governing body for personal injuries allegedly caused by chaos outside the stadium.

– Law firm Leigh Day filed a lawsuit against UEFA and UEFA Events on Monday, according to publicly available records of cases brought at the High Court in London.

– The firm told Reuters it has issued claims on behalf of 887 individuals and has a total of 1,076 clients.

Also Read: UEFA to refund Liverpool fans at the chaotic Champions League final in Paris

– Two other law firms, Pogust Goodhead and Liverpool-based Binghams Solicitors, said last year that they also represent Liverpool fans who intend to sue UEFA.

– UEFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legal case.

– Its general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said last month, when UEFA announced it will refund Liverpool fans who had certain tickets, that “we recognise the negative experiences of those supporters on the day.”

– The governing body has apologised after initially blaming Liverpool fans for the mayhem, which delayed last year’s final by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match against Real Madrid on May 28.

– French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, who complained of heavy-handed treatment as they were herded into pens outside the stadium.

– An independent review of incidents outside the stadium, released in February, found that UEFA was responsible for a “large number of near misses that nearly led to disaster” before the final, which Madrid won 1-0.

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– Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected as UEFA president unopposed during the Ordinary Congress of European football’s governing body in Lisbon on Wednesday.

– The Slovenian has been re-elected for a four-year term until 2027.

– Ceferin was elected UEFA’s seventh president in 2016 to replace Michel Platini, who was banned from the football administration in 2015 for ethics violations and forced to quit UEFA in 2016 after losing his appeal against his ban.

Also Read: UEFA President comments on ‘extremely serious’ Barcelona-Negreira situation

– The 55-year-old faced his biggest challenge in April 2021 when some of Europe’s top clubs attempted to form a European Super League.

– The competition was a direct threat to UEFA’s continental club competition, the Champions League, and Ceferin called on fans, football federations and governments to oppose the “disgraceful, self-serving proposal.”

– In his address ahead of his re-election, Ceferin said: “European football is already global. And while we are reaping the benefits, we are also paying the price.

– “There have been temptations, and even attempts, to create new models, but they conflict with the European model that we know so well and cherish so dearly.

– “Our model is based on sporting merit. Where we come from, merit doesn’t have a price. Merit can’t be claimed. It can’t be acquired. It can only be earned. Season by season. On and off the pitch. There’s no room for cartels on this continent.”

– Ceferin also highlighted the need to clamp down on the abuse of players.

– “Football is an inclusive sport, open to everyone,” he said. “Unfortunately, some people have still not grasped this concept, which is why we’re going to have to rethink our approach.

– “We need to target offenders more effectively when a player is subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist insults during UEFA competitions. We’re here to protect the players.”

– Ceferin, a lawyer, was first re-elected unopposed for a four-year term in 2019.

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– UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said the refereeing scandal facing Barcelona is one of the most serious situations he has ever seen in football.

– European football’s governing body announced in March it had opened an investigation into payments Barca made to the former vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee.

– From 2001 to 2018, Barca paid over €7 million to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. The Catalan club say they were purchasing “technical reports on refereeing” and deny ever buying match officials or influence.

Also Read: More trouble for Barca as UEFA launch probe into clubs refereeing scandal

– “The situation is extremely serious,” Ceferin said in an interview with Slovenian newspaper Ekipa on Monday when asked about the events surrounding Barca.

– “It is so serious that, in my opinion, it is one of the most serious [situations] in football that I have ever seen,” he said.

– Prosecutors are pursuing charges against Barca for alleged corruption, with a court in Spain recently agreeing to open an investigation into the club and former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu.

– Real Madrid and several sporting bodies in the country have also joined the prosecutors’ case.

– LaLiga president Javier Tebas has called the scandal “the worst reputational crisis” he can remember in Spanish football and called on Barca president Joan Laporta to clear up the payments.

– Laporta said he plans to hold a news conference once an internal investigation concludes.

– However, Tebas has also confirmed LaLiga will not be able to sanction Barca because of the statute of limitations in place in Spain — although Ceferin revealed UEFA don’t face such restrictions.

– “I cannot comment directly on this for two reasons,” Ceferin added. “Firstly, because we have an independent disciplinary committee in charge of this. And secondly, because I have not dealt with this matter in detail.

– “At the level of [LaLiga], of course, the matter is time-barred and can have no competitive consequences, but the proceedings are ongoing at the level of prosecutors. But as far as UEFA is concerned, there is nothing time-barred.”

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– Uefa has been asked to look into the treatment of England fans who attended last week’s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Italy in Naples.

– Bus issues were followed by four ticket checks at the heavily-policed Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

– England fans told the BBC they were charged at by police and struck with batons when trying to enter the ground.

Also Read: King Kane leads 10-man England to narrow win over Italy

– After the match, Three Lions supporters were kept in the stadium for an hour after full-time.

– The England Supporters Travel Club, run by the Football Association, said in an email to fans: “We know many of you are unhappy at what went on, both before and after the game against Italy.

– “We have received some very detailed accounts since the match and share many of the concerns and frustrations.

– “On Monday, we met with a representative from the travelling UK Policing to hear their view and discuss the circumstances. They too faced a very challenging situation, as did our staff on the ground.

– “The Football Supporters’ Association has also raised significant concerns.

– “Taking all of this into account, we are asking Uefa to conduct a review of what happened on Thursday night. We will keep you posted on how this unfolds.”

– England recorded their first victory in Italy since 1961, with Harry Kane becoming the nation’s all-time record goalscorer in the win.

– “We appreciate the time you give, and the expenses incurred in following England,” the ESTC continued.

– “Our paramount concern is your safety and wellbeing. We work hard to make sure travelling to watch the team is as enjoyable as possible.

– “On this occasion it was not, despite the months we spent planning while working in good faith with the authorities in Naples.

– “We are sorry that what should have been a wonderful occasion watching our first win in Italy since 1961 was not, for many of you.”

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– Uefa is to investigate payments made by Barcelona to a former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee.

– Uefa has appointed ethics and disciplinary inspectors to look into payments allegedly made for favourable refereeing decisions.

– A court heard Barcelona have been indicted for “corruption”, “breach of trust” and “false business records”.

Also Read: Barca charged for alleged payments to referees

– Prosecutors allege Barca paid 8.4m euros (£7.4m) to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira and his Dasnil 95 company.

– Barcelona, who deny any wrongdoing, acknowledged the payments were made to Dasnil 95 between 2001 and 2018.

– Uefa said: “Ethics and disciplinary inspectors have been appointed to conduct an investigation regarding a potential violation of Uefa’s legal framework by FC Barcelona in connection with the so-called ‘Caso Negreira'”.

– The payments, revealed by radio station Ser Catalunya, came to light following an investigation by tax authorities into Dasnil 95.

– “FC Barcelona obtained and maintained a strictly confidential verbal agreement with Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira so that, in his capacity as vice-president of the technical arbitral committee (CTA) and in exchange for money, the latter carries out actions tending to benefit FC Barcelona in decisions by the referees,” said the public prosecutor’s office.

– The Catalan club described the company as “an external technical consultant” which was paid to compile video reports related to professional referees “with the aim of complementing the information required by the coaching staff”.

– Former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, as well as Negreira, have been indicted alongside the club.

– The lawsuits were brought by the Barcelona public prosecutor’s office.

– La Liga chief executive Javier Tebas has said that current Barcelona president Joan Laporta should resign if he was unable to explain the payments.

– Real Madrid said that “in defence of its legitimate rights, it will appear at the trial when the judge opens it up to the affected parties”.

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– The Russian Football Union (RFU) will hold an executive committee meeting on Friday to discuss resigning from UEFA — European football’s governing body — in order to move to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

– All Russian clubs and national teams were suspended from competitive football by FIFA and UEFA in February after the invasion of Ukraine and, with the conflict ongoing, the suspension remains in place.

– But despite the global ban on its teams competing on the club and international stage, sources have said the RFU believes a move to the Asian organization would enable Russian teams to return to action in a more welcoming environment if, or when, FIFA ends its ban on Russia participating in the sport at a competitive level.

Also Read: Griner back home in US after prisoner swap with Russia

– “In the current geopolitical realities, the presence of the RFU in UEFA contradicts the national interests of Russia,” Roman Teryushkov, the deputy of the State Duma, told sports.ru. “It is impossible to build sports friendship with countries unfriendly to us and with constant poking from the collective West.”

– A meeting was held in Moscow on Dec. 23 to discuss the possibility of a transition to Asia, and sources have said a final decision could be made by the executive committee on Friday. Almost 75% of Russia’s land mass is in Asia.

– Sources have said UEFA is monitoring the situation and is waiting for Russia to clarify its position. Russia is one of 55 full member associations of UEFA and was due to host the 2022 Champions League final in St. Petersburg until the game was switched to Paris as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

– No nations have previously resigned from UEFA, but there is a precedent for the AFC in terms of accepting countries from outside the confederation.

– Australia now participate as an Asian nation after joining in 2006 following their resignation from the Oceania Football Confederation.