Liverpool could face UEFA sanction after late arrival to Frankfurt for Champions League clash

Liverpool face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, looking to bounce back from defeat to Manchester United, but their travel plans were disrupted

Liverpool are at risk of being fined by UEFA after breaching the competition’s rules by missing their pre-match press conference on Tuesday. The Reds failed to meet their obligations after their flight to Frankfurt was delayed.

Arne Slot’s side will take on the Bundesliga side at 8pm on Wednesday night, looking to break their run of four consecutive defeats. The Anfield side were scheduled to fly to the German city on Tuesday afternoon before speaking to the media.

The squad trained on Merseyside as they prepared for the clash, earlier in the day on Tuesday. But the pause to their flight ensured that Slot and a player avoided facing questions previewing the match at Deutsche Bank Park.

The club said in a statement: “Our pre-match press conference for the clash with Eintracht Frankfurt has been cancelled. A delay in the squad’s scheduled flight out to Frankfurt, due to technical issues with the aircraft, means the briefing will now not be able to take place.”

Liverpool’s absence means they breached Article 48 of the competition’s rules.

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It states: “The clubs must arrange for their teams to arrive on-site by the evening before the match concerned at the latest, and in time to fulfil their media obligations the day before the match.”

Liverpool could be spared punishment, however, as the club is blameless over the issues causing their delay. The technical difficulties that proved prohibitive mean that action against the Reds is unlikely.

If the UEFA match delegate chooses to include the incident in their report, a disciplinary body will make the final decision.

Slot has suggested his team’s preparations have not been impacted by their delayed travel. “No, it will not impact the build-up to tomorrow’s game,” he told Liverpool’s official website.

“We have trained over here at the AXA. Normally, we would have gone to Frankfurt a few hours earlier; now we are a few hours later. But, no, that can never be an excuse for the game tomorrow.”

“Now we play Frankfurt away, which is maybe a bit similar to Galatasaray, a stadium where the fans will be really loud,” he added. “So, apart from the quality Frankfurt have, this is something we have to take into account as well.

“But our players are used to playing in these circumstances. But a challenge, as it always is when you play Champions League.”

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