Liverpool FC will not be allowed to enter Germany to play their Champions League round of 16 against Leipzig due on February 16 due to restrictions linked to the pandemic, the German Home Office said on Thursday.
The ban on entry into German territory from Great Britain does not provide for "a special exemption for professional athletes," a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry told AFP.
As a result, "the Leipzig club have been warned that the planned events do not fall within the existing exemptions", she added.
The day before, the Saxon club had indicated that they had asked the German authorities to grant Liverpool such a derogation so that the team could come to German soil.
However, since last week, Germany has banned airlines from transporting people from areas affected by coronavirus mutations to German territory, with the exception of German citizens or people residing in Germany.
This regulation officially runs until at least February 17 and primarily concerns Great Britain where a variant of the coronavirus, estimated to be much more contagious, is very widespread.
The Leipzig club expected such a decision and, according to information from
SID
, the sports subsidiary of
AFP
, is working on a plan B.
UEFA has given the German club until February 8 to find an alternative, otherwise they risk losing the match on the green carpet 3-0.
Among the solutions now possible are the possibility of playing the match on neutral ground, therefore outside Germany, or of reversing the home and away matches.
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