So the French Sports Minister @AOC1978 said that "between 30,000 and 40,000" #lfc fans without tickets turned up at the stadium.
Let's consider this claim with reference to the UK's own Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds.
I believe The Guide says that a turnstile's recommended entry rate is 660 persons per hour (a little over 11 per minute per turnstile). #lfc were provided with three entry points (Gates X, Y, and Z).
So, acknowledging I'm unsure how many turnstiles were available after gate entry, we also know that for a period of time certain gates were completely closed. But 30,000 (fans without tickets)/3 (entry points)/3 (hours) = 3,333 people processed per hour per entry gate.
When you add back in the approximately 20,000 fans *with* legitimate* tickets, that makes a minimum of 5,555 required to be processed per hour (50,000/3/3).
Then, even if you want to believe that the seriously understaffed Stade de France was presumably capable of setting an incredible world record for ticket validation, you have to ask yourself, where did those 30-40,000 people alleged to have been without tickets go?
Essentially, this ludicrous, ridiculous claim is so spectacularly easy to debunk, why as a government minister would she go on to make it?
A minimum 5,555 people/tickets to be processed per hour.
That's +92 people/tickets to be processed per minute.
That's 1.5 people/tickets to be processed per second.
Minister @AOC1978 wants press to believe an influx of people not holding a valid ticket which literally comprises 37.5-50% of the stadium's capacity was present, and further that they would have somehow been dispersed away from the ground.
#lfc anticipate that the Anfield Road stadium development will take 22-23 months to complete and to open in time for the start of the football season. So with work expected to commence next summer/autumn - approval pending - it will be open for the start of the 2023-24 season.
Of the (up to) 7,000 additional seats, (up to) 1,800 will be premium.
The proposal would see #lfc's overall "official" capacity increase to 61,015, split by:
Main Stand - 20,676
Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand - 11,348
The Kop - 13,024
Anfield Road Stand - 15,967
Technically the supply was approved under the Regulation 174 of the Human Medicines Regulation Act, which was passed in 2012. Regulation 174 is itself an implementing measure for Article 5(2) of the EU Medicines Directive 2001/83.
Reg 174 - again, an implementing measure of an EU Directive - can be used to enable *temporary* UK-only distribution and supply of a vaccine or treatment if EMA licensing hasn't occurred before the end of the transition period.
And what does Article 5(2) say?
"Member States may temporarily authorise the distribution of an unauthorised medicinal product in response to the suspected or confirmed spread of pathogenic agents, toxins, chemical agents or nuclear radiation any of which could cause harm."
Not commenting on any particular cases, but just a few points on the evolution and development of UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play, because it's useful to discuss from where the impetus for licensing (and a desire to operate within certain financial constraints) came.
The first discussions regarding licensing were held as early as 1999, not instigated by UEFA itself, but a number of professional clubs requesting that sort of regulation be created to combat common problems within the game at the time (e.g. stadia, youth development, finance).
UEFA created 2 studies in parallel: whether to introduce a club licensing system, or a salary cap. For several reasons, including developing a necessary legal framework (difficult) & comparability of club financial data, the licensing system became the preferred option.