Champions League Final 2007 Athens May 23rd Offical Thread

[AZOffaly]

that's not a bad list at all , but I'd like a player with Premiership experience as well though. Maybe Tevez or Berbatov?

[An Fear Rua]

Have not heard all the stories or heard all the reports but a few points;

Radio 1 reported yesterday that these forged tickets could only be established as fake under an ultra violet light - therefore I am certain Liverpool fans bought them in good grace.

There was not one arrest overnight, so I doubt it was the riot scene some are hoping for.

ahem

Flood of forged tickets is final straw for supporters

Owen Slot, Chief Sports Reporter, in Athens
No one can really say whether the problems that occurred outside the Olympic Stadium were inevitable, unavoidable or simply the fault of the ticketless Liverpool fans who tried to storm through the gates. But with security guards weeding out hundreds for possessing forged tickets, the Greek police were prepared for what came at them.

There were two incidents that took place just as the match was starting yesterday. Outside the outer ring, police in riot gear had to use teargas and batons to repel a group of fans who had tried to storm a gate. At about the same time, closer to the stadium, a group of 500 fans also tried to charge their way through a gate. The police there responded by simply shutting the gates, although they were forced to let a few fans through when the crush became dangerous. In both these incidents, Greek police reported that it was largely Liverpool fans involved.

The frustration of many of the fans would explain much of what happened outside the stadium. The small allocation of tickets to each club was known long before anyone reached Athens, but another issue has been the quantity of forged tickets that have been on the market. Police made 97 arrests for people possessing or selling forgeries, but they did not come close to burying the problem.
To get into the stadium, fans had their tickets checked three times, the first two were cursory glances, the third required the logos to be checked with a special infra-red device. It was here that hundreds of forgeries were being spotted and the hapless fans were told that no matter what they had paid for their tickets, they could not go any farther. Many of these forgeries had cost in the region of £500.


With so many fans having paid so much to be disappointed, the two incidents at the gates last night can hardly have come as a surprise.

And they were not what we term "major" incidents of hooliganism. Overall, the atmosphere around this Champions League final has been convivial, save for a few incidents of fighting and bottle throwing in the city centre as fans without tickets watched the match on a big screen.

However, the lack of tickets has been the fans' story since they arrived. Yesterday, Greek police arrested a 28-year-old British man for selling 50 forged final tickets to an Italian travel agent for ¤58,000 (about £34,000). With black market prices rising reportedly to ¤5,000, he was probably sniffed out because his prices were so reasonable.

Elsewhere, one Liverpool fan reported that a taxi driver had driven off with his ticket. He had taken his luggage, too, but that was of little concern. Police also reported that a fight over a ticket had broken out between two Liverpool fans and it had got so bad that they had to be treated in hospital.

Outside the ground, one man was in the process of giving his tickets to stewards when he was knocked to the ground and had both tickets taken from his hand. Those tickets were probably resold immediately at Irini station, the stop that feeds the Olympic park, because the market there before the game was rife. In the hours before the match, ticketless fans gathered there in hope. Many said they had never known tickets to be so scarce and many were holding high their personal "Tickets Wanted" advertisements; some were offering £1,500 a pair and getting nowhere.

Others had paid £100 for what they knew were forgeries but they hoped might get them through. "What have you got?" one fan asked another as they jostled in the first queue. "A piece of paper that's as good as a piece of s***e," he replied before turning to his teenage son. "Don't worry, lad, we'll get in. It's the European Cup final, we always get in." And how were they intending to do so? "We're going to steam the c***s," he explained. -
Many of them did clearly succeed in getting in illegally because the Liverpool end last night was packed to the point where many feared it was becoming dangerous. The police were aware of a vast excess of bodies in the lower tier. When the game was still 30 minutes from starting, some fans at Gate 35 were screaming at stewards to stop letting any more people in.

As the match was played out last night, few inside would have known about the tales of despair from those left outside. The story last night was of AC Milan's revenge on Liverpool for the events of 2005, but the other tale of Athens is the market for forged tickets, for many people are making huge sums of money from this and the fans are paying and they are doing so dearly.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article1832527.ece


The root of the problems is that the finalists are not deemed as worthy of tickets as the corporates, and until people stop paying and feeding the machine it will continue.

[corn02]

I think if Tevez stays in England it will be with West Ham. Berbatov will be pretty much promised to have a team centered round him and I think he will like being the big fish. Premiership class is what we would want but the best strikers in the premiership are : Rooney, Crouch, Tevez, McCarthy, Henry and Berbatov. These are the people who score goals and I can't see any of them putting on a Liverpool shirt next year.

[corn02]

The people pushing at the gates and tear gassed where the ones with the real tickets. Did you expect them to say "oh what bad luck" have a chuckle and walk home?

97 arrests for selling forgeries, of course this had to be Liverpool fans. No way could it be Greek touts!

That quote, is that from a relaible source. Although I have never heard of papers making up false stories about Liverpool fans. 

[ONeill]

Pennant was given the freedom of that right hand side for 90 mins yet failed to do anything with it through lack of ability. I know his options were limited with Kuyt well marshalled but a decent winger would've caused mayhem cutting into the box.

[tyroneman]

[He obviously sees something in Kewell that most of us have not seen yet./quote]

Maybe it's an age thing but I can rmemebr Kewell in his pomp as a young player with Leeds. In those days he was easliy the most exciting prospect in the Prem. Things started to go wrong for him when he started believing his own hype and insisting on telling the manager to play him as s a striker rather than a left winger.

Difficult to see it now but he was good at one stage.........................honest

[Mack the finger]

Lot of valid points about the squad for next year.

Berbatov would be good - surely he'd jump at the chance to play for a big club? Like West ham and Tevez, they're more of a feeder club these days. Players want the chance to win things after all.

We're overloaded in Midfield - Mascherano, alonso, gerrard, Sissoko and the brazilian Leiva. Xavi needs a new challenge.

Gonzalez nearly gone, zenden going, kewell to be hopefully booted out and pennant to stay in squad. need wingers/Playmakers.

Bye bye bellamy, crouch to stay in squad, Kuyt's a great worker but needs quality. Not sure if he has it but good player to bring on.

Not sure if i trust agger yet - still a bit young. need to replace sami.

[AZOffaly]

I read that quote in the times AFR. The one about 'we'll steam the c**ts'. I have no time for that sh1t, and as a Liverpool supporter, I say anyone who knowingly tried to rush the gates on a forged ticket are a disgrace to the club and to themselves.

[PrivatePile]

Some of the Liverpool fans need to accept their share of the blame. What is it about English fans abroad and "heavy handed police".....

[corn02]

Agger is only 22, still not super but will be. Alonso will return to Spain I fear. He has had two bad seasons but I would still have faith in him.

Of all the stuff that has happened in the history of our club, I can not get over the following:

We bought Gonzales for £2million and it looks like we are getting£5 million for him. If this is true Benitez should be given an unlimited contract.

[High Catch]

Who is paying £5 million for Gonzalez?

[Syd]

Who is paying £5 million for Gonzalez?

Real Betis, deal almost done.

[Rossie11]

Maybe high treason but does anyone else think no matter who we get in during the summer that the type of football Pool play will still be the same under Rafa and that the European Cup will always be the best chance of silverware as Rafa treats every game a final and sets up teams to counteract the opponents 1st and play their own game 2nd?

[High Catch]

Muppets.

[Uladh]

The people pushing at the gates and tear gassed where the ones with the real tickets.

How do you know?