Taken from RAWK
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...9&parent_id=29
No blame for Liverpool fans: Platini
Published: Wednesday, 6 June, 2007, 01:57 AM Doha Time
BRUSSELS: Liverpool fans cannot be blamed for the trouble at the Champions League final in Athens two weeks ago and are not the worst behaved in Europe, UEFA president Michel Platini told Reuters yesterday.
Asked whether Liverpool supporters caused the fracas at some of the entry gates before the match against AC Milan at the Olympic Stadium, Platini replied: "No we cannot say that, we cannot point the finger.
"The issue is not that they are English or Spanish, one club or another, it is simply about fans who travel without tickets and it can be anyone."
The president added: "This is an old story. We know about this, it is just that more English fans follow their clubs than those from other countries.
"It is not as if one set of fans are good or one set bad. This
is not the question in the end. We cannot go around saying that."
Platini, contradicting statements attributed to UEFA officials last week, also said of Liverpool's supporters: "No they are not the worst behaved in Europe. It's official, they are not the worst behaved in Europe." Platini was speaking after a meeting with British sports minister Richard Caborn during which he handed over a report into security problems at last month's Champions League final in which AC Milan beat Liverpool 2-1.
UEFA officials had blamed Liverpool fans for causing the majority of the problems before the match, alleging that hundreds of English supporters who had no tickets or forged tickets forced their way into the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
An official said Liverpool fans had been involved in
25 incidents at away
matches in the last four years making them the worst behaved among followers of clubs in European competition.
n UEFA and the British government will set up a task force to investigate security problems at European soccer matches to avoid a repeat of the trouble at last month's Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool.
"This not about laying blame, it's about how to stop this from happening again and so we have decided to set up a special working group, a task force, which will look at ways to achieve this," Caborn told Reuters in the presence of Platini.
Although the exact remit and brief of the committee, which includes representatives from other European countries, has yet to be decided, sources said it was expected to focus on stadium criteria and security -- both inside and outside the ground.
"Stadium criteria such as the location and capacity along with issues such the facilities for supporters outside the ground, transportation and access will be looked at," said a source. (Reuters)
Gulf Times Newspaper, 2007