Written by Sam Blythin and Beck Pascal
RB Leipzig may have to pay a €300,000 compensation to Liverpool if the second leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie does not take place at Anfield.
Due to Germany’s coronavirus restrictions, the Reds were denied entrance to ahead of the first leg.
The Puskás Aréna in Budapest was designated as a stand-in venue.
If similar precautions are to be taken for the second leg on March 10 Liverpool will be owed the payout, according to German sports magazine Kicker.
ESPN commentator Derek Rae said the compensation fees have been introduced due to the current Sachsen State health rules that the city of Leipzig are under.
2/ UEFA have provisionally asked Liverpool to seek an alternative venue. Why? Under the Sachsen health rules, German resident travellers coming from a mutation zone (the U.K. is mutation zone A1) must quarantine for 2 weeks. Exceptions for pro athletes don’t apply.
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) February 14, 2021
If Leipzig travelled to Anfield for the second tie, all their players and staff would have to enter quarantine and their matches against Eintracht Frankfurt and Arminia Bielefeld, on March 14 and March 19, would need to be postponed.
This is due to the U.K. being in an A1 mutation zone, meaning anybody travelling from the U.K must quarantine for two weeks.
Consequently, UEFA has provisionally asked Liverpool to seek an alternative venue for their round of 16 home tie against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
We may see neutral venues being used as a formality for the foreseeable future in European football with COVID-19 still at large.
With cases yet to stagnate and counties enforcing stricter travelling precautions; are we looking at the rest of the competition heading in this direction?
Issues with the away goal rule have also been brought to light as part of the neutral venue discussion. With neither team playing home or away in some cases, there have been talks to scrap the rule for this season.
Last year’s competition was played entirely at neutral grounds from the quarter-finals onwards, but UEFA would surely be looking to avoid this occurring again, especially with this summers European Championships and Copa America still expected to run.
There have also been ongoing speculation ties will be contested over one leg rather than two, although UEFA are yet to make an official statement.
(Featured Image – Creative Commons, Balkan Photos, Flikr)
