Liverpool will look to bounce back from defeat to Manchester United when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, but their travel plans have been suspended.
Liverpool are at risk of being fined by UEFA after breaking competition rules by not attending Tuesday’s pre-match press conference. The Reds were unable to fulfill their obligation as their flight to Frankfurt was delayed.
Arne Slott’s side will be looking to end their four-game losing streak when they take on the Bundesliga side on Wednesday night at 8pm. The Anfield side were due to fly to the German city on Tuesday afternoon before holding a press conference.
The team trained early on Tuesday morning on Merseyside in preparation for the match. However, the suspension of flights allowed Slott and the players to avoid facing questions during previews of the match at Deutsche Bank Park.
“The pre-match press conference for the game against Eintracht Frankfurt has been cancelled. Due to technical problems with the aircraft, the team’s flight to Frankfurt has been delayed, which means that the press conference will no longer be able to take place,” the club said in a statement.
Liverpool’s absence means they have breached Article 48 of the competition’s rules.
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“Clubs must ensure that their teams arrive on site no later than the night before the match in question and in time to meet their media obligations the day before the match.”
However, Liverpool may escape punishment as the club is not responsible for the issues that caused the delay. Action against the Reds is unlikely as the technical difficulties proved prohibitive.
If UEFA’s match representative chooses to include the incident in its report, the disciplinary body will make the final decision.
Slott suggested the team’s preparations have not been affected by the delay on the road. “No, it will not affect my preparation for tomorrow’s game,” he told Liverpool’s official website.
“We have been practicing here at AXA. Normally we would have gone to Frankfurt a few hours early, but now we are a few hours late. But that is by no means an excuse for tomorrow’s game.”
“Now we play away against Frankfurt and it might be a little bit like Galatasaray, a stadium where the fans are very loud,” he added. “So apart from the quality that Frankfurt has, this is also something we have to consider.
“But our players are used to playing in these conditions. But as always when you play the Champions League, it’s a challenge.”
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