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Jürgen Klopp (right) and his assistant at Liverpool FC Pep Lijnders
Photo: Nick Potts / imago images / PA Images
Because of several corona cases at Liverpool FC, the first leg in the league cup semi-finals at Arsenal FC has been postponed.
This was announced by the responsible EFL after Liverpool requested that the game scheduled for Thursday evening be postponed.
The match in London's Emirates Stadium will now be rescheduled two weeks later on January 20th.
The second leg in Anfield on January 13th will be the first leg of the semi-finals.
After coach Jürgen Klopp, the Reds announced that his assistant and representative Pep Lijnders had also tested positive for the corona virus.
A planned press conference was then canceled.
The 38-year-old Lijnders should be on the sidelines at the cup match in London, just like at the weekend in the away game against Chelsea (2-2).
Liverpool FC had already requested the EFL, which is responsible for the cup, to postpone the league cup semi-finals before Lijnders' test result. The Dutchman was one of numerous suspected corona cases among players and employees who tested positive on Tuesday, the Reds said. Therefore the training was canceled. On Tuesday, the training center was closed for the time being due to the rapid increase in suspected cases.
The coronavirus situation in the Premier League is worsening.
Already at the turn of the year there had been loud criticism of the league because the schedule was compressed more and more due to postponed games.
In order to better control the situation, tests are now being carried out much more often.
Daily quick tests are part of everyday life again for players and officials, and the current rules also provide for two PCR tests per week.
hba / dpa / sid