Liverpool hit out at Mayor over Anfield fan claims if Prem returns Liverpool have said they are “disappointed” by comments from the city’s Mayor Joe Anderson that suggested fans would not respect social distancing rules if the Premier League returned and the Reds were handed the title. Jurgen Klopp’s men are currently 25 points clear in the race for the title this season, but their ambitions of lifting a first top-flight trophy in 30 years have stalled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Premier League ‘has devised “Project Restart”, a plan for the season to resume on June 8 behind closed doors at “approved stadiums”, which it unveiled to its clubs at a meeting on April 17.’ However, on the same day that PSG were awarded the Ligue 1 title in France, Anderson said resuming the Premier League would be a “non-starter”. Anderson told BBC Sport: “Even if it was behind closed doors, there’d be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield. “There’s not many people who would respect what we were saying and stay away from the ground, a lot of people would come to celebrate so I think it’s a non-starter. “I think it would be really difficult for the police to keep people apart and maintain social distancing if they were going to celebrate outside Anfield. It would be farcical.” He added: “It isn’t just about Liverpool – they’ve clearly won the league – they deserve it, they should be crowned league champions. “The bottom line is, though, this is about health and safety and people’s lives and I think football should have to come second in regards to making a choice here.” However, Liverpool have responded by saying the city’s Mayor has a “lack of evidence” to make such claims. Liverpool said in a statement: “As a club, we are aware of and disappointed by comments attributed to Mayor Joe Anderson in a media interview which was published today. “As well as a lack of evidence to support such claims, we would also point to recent discussions with Mayor Anderson relating to the possibility of any behind-closed-doors football, which concluded that it is important that key stakeholders across the city continue to engage and work collaboratively. “In recent weeks, we have engaged with supporters’ groups who have informed us of their determination to respect social distancing measures and, in the event of a resumption of football being announced, we would continue to work with them and other key stakeholders in keeping with our collective desire to achieve this crucial objective. “As part of our ongoing operations, we are in regular contact with the Mayor and his office and we hope these conversations can continue. “In the meantime, our primary focus remains responding to the humanitarian crisis which continues to unfold and in particular providing ongoing support to various NHS initiatives and those experiencing food poverty and social isolation.” The post Liverpool hit out at Mayor over Anfield fan claims if Prem returns appeared first on teamtalk.com.

Liverpool have said they are “disappointed” by comments from the city’s Mayor Joe Anderson that suggested fans would not respect social distancing rules if the Premier League returned and the Reds were handed the title.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are currently 25 points clear in the race for the title this season, but their ambitions of lifting a first top-flight trophy in 30 years have stalled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League ‘has devised “Project Restart”, a plan for the season to resume on June 8 behind closed doors at “approved stadiums”, which it unveiled to its clubs at a meeting on April 17.’

However, on the same day that PSG were awarded the Ligue 1 title in France, Anderson said resuming the Premier League would be a “non-starter”.

Anderson told BBC Sport: “Even if it was behind closed doors, there’d be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield.

“There’s not many people who would respect what we were saying and stay away from the ground, a lot of people would come to celebrate so I think it’s a non-starter.

“I think it would be really difficult for the police to keep people apart and maintain social distancing if they were going to celebrate outside Anfield. It would be farcical.”

He added: “It isn’t just about Liverpool – they’ve clearly won the league – they deserve it, they should be crowned league champions.

“The bottom line is, though, this is about health and safety and people’s lives and I think football should have to come second in regards to making a choice here.”

However, Liverpool have responded by saying the city’s Mayor has a “lack of evidence” to make such claims.

 

Liverpool said in a statement: “As a club, we are aware of and disappointed by comments attributed to Mayor Joe Anderson in a media interview which was published today.

“As well as a lack of evidence to support such claims, we would also point to recent discussions with Mayor Anderson relating to the possibility of any behind-closed-doors football, which concluded that it is important that key stakeholders across the city continue to engage and work collaboratively.

“In recent weeks, we have engaged with supporters’ groups who have informed us of their determination to respect social distancing measures and, in the event of a resumption of football being announced, we would continue to work with them and other key stakeholders in keeping with our collective desire to achieve this crucial objective.

“As part of our ongoing operations, we are in regular contact with the Mayor and his office and we hope these conversations can continue.

“In the meantime, our primary focus remains responding to the humanitarian crisis which continues to unfold and in particular providing ongoing support to various NHS initiatives and those experiencing food poverty and social isolation.”

 

 

The post Liverpool hit out at Mayor over Anfield fan claims if Prem returns appeared first on teamtalk.com.

Robert McCarthy