The deputy chief scientific adviser to the British government has said it is an “interesting hypothesis” that Liverpool’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid may have spread coronavirus in the city.

The deputy chief scientific adviser to the British government has said it is an “interesting hypothesis” that Liverpool’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid may have spread coronavirus in the city.
More than 3,000 fans made the trip from the Spanish capital to Merseyside for the 11 March fixture, despite their home city already subject to partial lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Professor Dame Angela McLean admitted it would be interesting to look at the scientific evidence and the Champions League last-16 second leg tie at Anfield down the line.
However, she pointed out that, given the general policy at the time, going to a football match was not considered a “particularly large extra risk”.
“However, when you get to the situation of our strange lives as we live them now where we spend all our time basically at home, of course you wouldn’t add on an extra risk of lots and lots of people going off to the same place at the same time,” she continued.
“I think it will be very interesting to see in the future when all the science is done what relationship there is between the virus that has circulated in Liverpool and the virus that has circulated in Spain. That’s certainly an interesting hypothesis you raise there.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak defended the government for not having introduced a ban on large sporting events sooner, with Cheltenham Festival held between 10-13 March.
“At every stage in this crisis we’ve been guided by the scientific advice and have been making the right decision at the right time,” Mr Sunak said.
“This is an unprecedented situation we’re all dealing with, I’m sure there are all things that we will learn from this.”
Thousands of Irish fans travelled across to the UK for both sporting events that week.
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Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that even action behind closed doors might be too risky during long-term social distancing as she told Scottish sports fans not to expect mass gatherings to resume any time soon.
Ms Sturgeon admitted some form of social distancing could be required until a vaccine is ready, meaning the prospect of thousands of fans gathering at sporting events in Scotland could be ruled out for an estimated 18 months.
When asked about the prospect of crowds or closed-door events before a vaccine, Ms Sturgeon said at the Scottish government’s daily briefing: “I’m not yet in a position to give you dates on when things will start again and in what order things start to go back to normal.
“But I would absolutely say that people should not be under the expectation that large-scale mass gatherings will be starting any time soon.”