{"id":13896,"date":"2020-04-02T19:10:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T23:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=13896"},"modified":"2020-04-05T11:12:33","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T15:12:33","slug":"liverpools-public-health-director-says-not-right-decision-to-stage-atletico-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=13896","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool’s Public Health Director Says ‘Not Right Decision’ to Stage Atl\u00e9tico Match"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Liverpool council\u2019s director of public health Matthew Ashton has suggested the rise in coronavirus cases in the city may be influenced by the decision to allow the Reds\u2019 Champions League match against Atl\u00e9tico Madrid to take place.<\/p>\n

There were just 14 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Liverpool on Friday, March 20, but that number has swelled to 309 less than two weeks later.<\/p>\n

MPs in Liverpool and former England striker Gary Lineker were among those questioning the wisdom of allowing 3,000 supporters from coronavirus-hit Madrid to travel for the last-16 second-leg fixture at Anfield on March 11.<\/p>\n

Ashton, in place to coordinate Liverpool\u2019s response to the pandemic, said in the Guardian: \u201cIt was not the right decision to stage the match.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t make bad decisions on purpose \u2013 perhaps the seriousness of the situation wasn\u2019t being understood across government at that time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we will never know, the Atl\u00e9tico Madrid game could have been one of the cultural events and gatherings that influenced the rise in Liverpool.<\/p>\n

“It was not the right decision to stage the match. People don\u2019t make bad decisions on purpose \u2013 perhaps the seriousness of the situation wasn\u2019t being understood across government at that time<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is definitely one to be included on the list for learning and for a future inquiry, so that organisations can learn and not make similar mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day before the match, which Atl\u00e9tico won 3-2 after extra-time to prevail 4-2 on aggregate in front of 54,000 fans, LaLiga had announced all fixtures in its top two divisions would have to be played behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

Since then, all of the major European leagues have been shut down. LaLiga has been indefinitely postponed while Premier League clubs will gather via conference call to consider whether they should follow suit.<\/p>\n

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