Revealed: two members of Paris final ‘independent’ review worked for Uefa

The two Portuguese professionals appointed to work with the chairman of Uefa’s “independent review” into the chaos at the Champions League final have both worked extensively for Uefa, raising further serious concerns about the review’s independence.

Daniel Ribeiro and Luis Silva were announced on 1 July by Uefa, which said that the Portuguese politician appointed to chair the review, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, would be “administratively supported” by them in Lisbon. No biographical details were provided, or explanation as to why they had been considered appropriate to support Rodrigues, whose own independence and suitability has also been challenged.

In response to questions from the Guardian, Uefa declined to provide any details about Ribeiro and Silva, or even to confirm their identities and that they are, as they appear to be, respectively a former Uefa head of events and a former long-term Uefa consultant. Biographies, interviews and a LinkedIn profile for Ribeiro state that he worked full-time based at Uefa’s Swiss headquarters for 10 years until 2016, as events manager then head of events – the department that organises Champions League finals. Since then he has worked in a senior role at the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Silva heads a stadium events consultancy, Bluerock Sports & Entertainment, in Porto, and is stated in an online professional biography to have worked “as Uefa consultant for stadium operations for the European Championships in 2004, 2008 & 2012”.

Uefa has promised that the review, set up without consultation on 30 May, two days after the match at the Stade de France in Paris, will fully and independently investigate all the circumstances that caused the showpiece final between Real Madrid