UEFA may lift Atletico-Liverpool ban: reports

October 16, 2008

MADRID (AFP) - Atletico Madrid’s Champions League tie against Liverpool may finally go ahead at their Vicente Calderon stadium next Wednesday as originally planned, Spanish media reported.

UEFA on Tuesday ordered Atletico to play their next two European matches at a stadium at least 300 kilometres (200 miles) from Madrid as punishment for crowd disturbances and racist insults against Marseille players during a Champions League match on October 1.

But Spanish sports daily Mundo Deportivo reported on its web site that European football’s governing body was poised to announce that the match could go ahead in Madrid after all because of the logistical difficulty of staging it elsewhere at such short notice.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard, asked about the reports by Spanish public radio RNE, said a decision on the game’s venue would be made Thursday.

"We still have not made any decision regarding where the Atletico-Liverpool match will be held," he said.

"We will make the security of the public and the teams our maximum priority," he added.

Atletico’s Mexican coach Javier Aguirre said he expected UEFA would suspend its sanction against the club and allow the match to go ahead at Vicente Calderon stadium.

"That seems to me to be the most reasonable to avoid problems with the movement of supporters and for all that organising a match in so little time implies," he told Spanish media.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has said the late change in venue for the match against Atletico was unfair amid reports that over 3,000 supporters of the English side have already bought plane tickets to go to Madrid.

Atletico and Liverpool are joint leaders in Group D of the Champions League having both won their opening two matches.

Written by: AFP

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