Liverpool’s preparations for their Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt were thrown into disarray on Tuesday when their flight to Germany was delayed by nearly four hours. The Reds found themselves stranded at Liverpool John Lennon Airport after a technical problem with the plane they were due to board for Wednesday’s Bundesliga game.
The plane ultimately left Merseyside just before 8pm, forcing Liverpool to skip their customary pre-match media briefing, which was due to start at Frankfurt’s stadium at 6:30pm UK time. The Reds, hoping to avoid a fifth straight defeat for the first time since 1953, could be sanctioned by UEFA for breaching Article 48 of the competition’s regulations by not appearing at the Deutsche Bank Arena in the conference.
The rules state: “Clubs must ensure that their teams arrive on site at least the night before the match in question and in time to meet their media obligations on the day before the match.”
If UEFA’s match representatives choose to mention the incident in their official report, the final verdict will be handed down by the disciplinary committee. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the team at Anfield will be affected in any way, given that Liverpool are not responsible for the technical defect.
“No, it will not affect our preparation for tomorrow’s game,” Reds manager Arne Slott declared before the plane finally took off. “We have been training here at AXA (Training Center).
“Normally we would have left for Frankfurt a few hours early, but now we are a few hours late. But that is in no way an excuse for tomorrow’s game.”
Liverpool have announced they have taken 21 members of their squad to Germany in the absence of Ryan Gravenbirch, who picked up an ankle problem in Sunday’s game against Manchester United. However, Wataru Endo returned due to poor health.
Liverpool 21-man vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Goalkeeper: Mamadashvili, Woodman, Mishur
Defender: Van Dijk, Gomez, Konate, Kerkes, Bradley, Robertson, Frimpong.
Midfielders: Endo, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones, Wirtz
Forwards: Isaac, Salah, Chiesa, Gakpo, Ekitike, Ngumoha
