Liverpool fan union demand answers over Atletico match held during coronavirus outbreak
Supporters union Spirit of Shankly have demanded answers over the controversial decision to allow Liverpool’s Champions League meeting with Atletico Madrid on March 11 to go ahead.
Atletico travelled to Merseyside knowing that their scheduled weekend game against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga had already been postponed as a result of the worsening spread of coronavirus in Spain.
It had also been confirmed that two of the four last-16 ties contested in Europe’s premier cup competition that week would be moved behind closed doors in a bid to slow the outbreak.
Despite that fact, the UK government were happy to allow over 3,000 fans travelling from one of the continent’s early virus hotspots to join a total of 54,000 supporters congregated at Anfield on March 11.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4 set to be broadcast later today, the move has been criticised by the scientist leading the country’s biggest Covid-19 tracking project.
Professor Tim Spector said: "I think sporting events should have been shut down at least a week earlier because they'll have caused increased suffering and death that wouldn't otherwise have occurred."
And Spirit of Shankly have now added their voice to calls for a full investigation into the reasons why the match was allowed to go ahead, revealing that they had voiced fan concerns in the days prior that have since been borne out.
Chair Joe Blott told Standard Sport: “I think the first thing to say is that this isn’t some remarkable hindsight.
“We raised issues with the club on the Friday before the Bournemouth game, which was the weekend before the Madrid match.
“We had a number of fans who contacted us and were worried about going to the game and [asked] would we contact the club to consider any refunds should they feel unable or unwilling to attend.
“The club responded and said they would look at that on a case by case basis, which is understandable.
“Later that day, they confirmed that the game would go ahead following the latest government guidance and so they were introducing hand-washing stations on the concourse and providing those protective measures.
“But it’s striking isn’t it that at the game itself they scrapped handshakes before the game, mascots weren’t allowed on the pitch, and there’s that famous video of Jurgen Klopp rightly refusing to shake hands with fans.
“And yet, there we were in our usual spec, doing our usual things, and getting involved in the game, which was a fantastic game.
“The second element of it was that, that same week, UEFA played a couple of games behind closed doors.
“It seems bizarre that our government allowed the game to go ahead, 3,000 fans to travel from a city that was on its way to lockdown if not under lockdown, 3,000 fans of a club who couldn’t play a home game and yet here they were in Liverpool.”
Blott also shared his hope that any probe would have a wider scope than simply looking at the impact of the match itself, which formed only a small part of the visiting fans’ stay in the city.
He added: “Liverpool City Council said that they want to look into this, clearly there needs to be a wider look at this that includes the fans’ views but also the rest of the city.
“This isn’t having a go at the 3,000 Madrid fans, they came across in good faith because they assumed that they were okay to come.
“They mingled in the streets, went to the bars, the restaurants, they went to the club shop, were on the concourse at the ground, were body-searched by stewards.
“It’s a rounded picture we need to look at here because it’s more than just the match itself, it’s the presence of 3,000 people within the city.
“Looking back at that time, without any shadow of doubt there was a huge spike within three or four weeks of the game taking place.
“We would expect some form of investigation, some form of enquiry to establish why the decision was taken, why the government did believe that stadiums could host games, and why despite them having the overall responsibility for the public health of the population, it didn’t take a match with 54,000 plus people would gather seriously.”
Spirit of Shankly’s search for answers will also be aided by Liverpool Football Club, who have privately offered their backing to any inquiry into the staging of the match.
Blott continued: “We’re in regular contact with the club and when we last spoke they had offered their support to the city council for any investigation that takes place.
“So we’re confident that, if the city council does pick it up through their Public Health Network, which is what they’ve said they’d do, then the club will participate, as will we, as I’m sure fans will do as well.”
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