Jurgen Klopp felt Liverpool game vs Atletico Madrid going ahead was “criminal”, says fellow Premier League boss

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp felt that the Reds’ recent Champions League game against Atletico Madrid was a “criminal act” due to the coronavirus situation currently unfolding.

This is the claim being made by Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti, who agrees with the German tactician’s assessment of that match, which took place less than three weeks ago, even though it already feels like a lot more!

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Liverpool lost 3-2 at home to Diego Simeone’s side, and it seems rather bizarre in hindsight that the game was allowed to go ahead in front of a full stadium.

The coronavirus situation was already very bad in Spain when several thousand Atletico fans made their way to Liverpool that night, even if it had not yet escalated in the UK.

One imagines this won’t have helped the situation, and Klopp is said to be of the view that allowing the game to go ahead as normal was a terrible idea.

Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, as translated by the Evening Standard, Ancelotti said: “The other day I heard [from] Klopp. He told me that making the game play in those conditions was a criminal act, I think he was right.”

Just two days after that game, the Premier League was suspended as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta contracted coronavirus, and it’s now not clear when football could resume.

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