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Liverpool Council has launched an official inquiry to see if there is a link between a controversial football match that took place at Anfield and the the rising impact of coronavirus on the city.

Mayor Joe Anderson has commissioned the city's new public health director, Matt Ashton, to conduct a wide-ranging investigation that will work with the city's universities to try and ascertain whether there is a direct link between Liverpool's March 11 Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid and a spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the city and region.

More than 3,000 Madrid fans travelled from the Spanish capital - where there was an acute outbreak of the disease at the time - to Liverpool on that date for the match.

At the time, the crisis in Madrid and Spain meant that those fans were not allowed to watch their own team play at home - but were still encouraged to travel to Liverpool to spend time socialising in the city's pubs and bars before attending a packed Anfield for the match.

On Monday, the Liverpool ECHO directly asked government whether it was a mistake to host the game, and whether the event could have contributed to Liverpool's soaring coronavirus case and death numbers.

The government's deputy chief scientific adviser Professor Angela McLean said the idea of a link between the Spanish and Liverpool outbreaks of the virus was an "interesting hypothesis", suggesting it should be looked at more closely.

That is now going to happen, with Mr Ashton being asked to speak with fans and work with specialist teams from the universities in the city to work out if there is in fact a link.

Mayor Joe Anderson said: "I have asked Matt Ashton and his team to conduct a full investigation into any potential link between that match and the situation with coronavirus in the city.

(Image: PA)

"We want to come to a view as to whether that decision had an impact on the people of this city and I've asked Matt to work with the universities to see if the data can give us an indication of that.



He added: "I said at the time that the fact that the Madrid fans were unable to attend matches in their home city but could travel to a game in Liverpool was absurd, but the government and UEFA decided the game should go ahead.

"We now want to find out what impact that had in the city."

Mr Ashton, who only recently started his job as the city's public health director, said: "Our public health team at the council will be working to draw up an investigation into the match.

"We will work with the universities and other partners to try and get as good an understanding as we can about whether the match can be linked to the spike of coronavirus cases that we have seen in Liverpool."