Mayor of Liverpool wants Atletico match to be investigated
Steve Rotheram thinks the game was an error given the coronavirus crisis
Liverpool’s mayor has called for an investigation into whether the team’s clash with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on March 11 should have taken place or not.
52,000 fans went to the game and 3,000 from Madrid travelled despite the coronavirus crisis already gripping the Spanish capital.
"If people have contracted coronavirus as a direct result of a sporting event that we believe shouldn't have taken place, well that is scandalous," mayor Steve Rotherham told the BBC.
"That's put not just those people in danger, but those frontline staff in the NHS and others in their own families that may have contracted it.
"We’ve seen an increase in the infection curve, and that's resulted in 1,200 people [in Liverpool] contracting Covid-19.
"That needs to be investigated to find out whether some of those infections are due directly to the Atletico fans. There were coronavirus hot cities, and Madrid was one of those.
"They weren't allowed to congregate in their own country, but 3,000 of those fans came over to ours, and potentially may well have spread coronavirus.
"So it does need looking at, and it does need the government to take some responsibility for not locking down sooner."
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