LIVERPOOL’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid at Anfield will be investigated to see if it caused a spike in the number of coronavirus cases on Merseyside.
More than 52,000 fans watched the Reds crash out at the last-16 stage including 3,000 Atletico fans – many of whom had flown in from Spain for the March 11 clash.
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Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid at Anfield will be investigated to see if it caused a spike in the number of coronavirus cases on Merseyside
More than 52,000 fans attended the game including 3,00 away fans – many of whom had flown in from Spain
By the time the game was played, a plan to play LaLiga games behind closed doors was already in place in Spain.
This meant the Spanish fans who traveled were not allowed to watch their team in Madrid but were given the green light to travel to Liverpool for the game.
The decision to press on with the match has been widely criticised and city mayor Joe Anderson has commissioned an investigation in response.
Liverpool’s new public health director Matt Ashton will lead the review.
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Anderson said: “I have asked Matt Ashton and his team to conduct a full investigation into any potential link between that match and the situation with coronavirus in the city.
“We want to come to a view as to whether that decision had an impact on the people of this city and I’ve asked Matt to work with the universities to see if the data can give us an indication of that.
“I said at the time the fact Madrid fans were unable to attend matches in their home city but could travel to a game in Liverpool was absurd, but the government and Uefa decided the game should go ahead.
“We now want to find out what impact that had in the city.”
The UK currently has 139,246 cases and 18,791 deaths while Spain has 219,764 cases and 22,524 deaths.
Liverpool lost 3-2 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate after their first-leg defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Bundesliga start still unclear as clubs wait for government decision to resume play on May 9th
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
