Offcial Response from Parry. Rick Parry today responded to Uefa spokesman William Gaillard's scathing attack on the club's fans by insisting that his comments shouldn't be allowed to cloud over the real issue ahead a meeting between the British government and Uefa this week. "The shortcomings in the management of the situation in Athens were apparent to anyone who was there," insists Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry, "and these latest comments from Uefa should not deflect attention from that reality. What is most surprising about the latest comments from Mr Gaillard is that one the eve of the final, he quite rightly commented that Liverpool supporters 'have a tradition of good behaviour'. "Let's not forget that these same supporters who Mr Gaillard is claiming are now the worst in Europe were praised by Uefa President Michel Platini after our semi-final victory against Chelsea only last month, commended for their behaviour in Istanbul in 2005 and actually honoured by Uefa at a gala dinner in Monte Carlo in 2001 as joint Supporters of the Years with Alves after the UEFA Cup final." Richard Caborn, the British Sports Minister, is meeting Uefa President Michel Platini on Tuesday and top of the agenda is the problems that marred the Champions League final in Athens. "I have a lot of sympathy with the Liverpool fans who paid their hard-earned money for genuine tickets but couldn't get into the ground," revealed Caborn, who is traveling to Brussels to meet Platini. "The reasons for this need an urgent explanation. We have already raised the matter with the Greek authorities through our embassy in Athens and government officials are also talking with UEFA. I will be putting this issue high on the agenda at a meeting I am to have with Michel Platini." Of particular interest to Caborn will be why Liverpool's concerns prior to the final about fans safety and security measures to guard against overcrowding due to forged tickets were seemingly ignored by Uefa. "To have a stadium with no counting system and no turnstiles is unforgivable for any standard of game, let alone a major final," explained Parry. "We produced a report for Uefa a week beforehand predicting, sadly, all of the things that did go wrong. We told Uefa our intelligence suggested there were 5,000 forged tickets in existence. They knew and we knew that thousands of fans would travel without tickets and we stressed the need for a proper check at the outer cordon." Already one Liverpool supporter is threatening to sue Uefa for compensation after being denied entry to the Olympic Stadium in Athens despite having a valid ticket. Paul Gregory, an architect and former Liverpool Football Club shareholder, paid £2,370 for flights, accommodation and tickets for the final and insists, in a letter sent to Platini, "I would like this to be reimbursed by Uefa. "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."
