Hindered by Covid-19 travel restrictions, Liverpool’s clash against RB Leipzig in the Champions League was in danger of not taking place.
That could have meant a 3-0 forfeit from the German side, but they tried to avoid that by submitting an application to the federal police to allow Jürgen Klopp’s men the right to travel despite a ban from flight from the UK into Germany until February 17th.
That didn’t work, with Bild having an update on Friday, explaining the Bundesliga club have a ‘secret plan’ to save the game against Liverpool following the Ministry of Interior’s decision to ‘prohibit’ the Reds from entering the country on February 16th.
As things stand, the Premier League side have ‘so far refused to swap the home right’, meaning Leipzig ‘have to present a suitable replacement location to UEFA by Monday evening’.
The first alternative is Budapest, where the Puskás Arena, boasting 67,000 seats, ‘would be ready for the Leipzig game’.
Another potential destination is London where ‘there are several stadiums suitable for the Champions League’.
Bild then add both ‘Istanbul and St. Petersburg’ are also being discussed, but those are ‘absolute emergency options’ as the club ‘want to keep travel stress to a minimum’ and want to avoid switching time zones.
Those are the avenues explored, despite Leipzig having put ‘extreme effort’ in preparing Liverpool’s arrival, with ‘one wing of the Steigenberger team hotel hermetically sealed off for the English champions’.
They had also assigned ’20 employees to be permanently tested and quarantined after departure’.
However, ‘it’s unlikely that politicians will back down’, meaning playing in a different country seems to be the best option.
