The Trafford council that’s in charge of all matter related to the Football and Cricket Old Trafford grounds have requested UEFA, that the 2nd leg of the round of 16 tie between Manchester United and Liverpool be moved back by a couple of hours.
The game is set to kick off on the St. Patricks day at Old Trafford at 6.05 PM according to the current schedule. But the council have sent a letter to UEFA to change the time of the kick-off to 8:00 PM on the same night.
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The action has been taken after the Saftey Advisory board of the Trafford council have raised security concerns regarding the current timing of the match given the festivities that will take place on the same day.
UEFA have acknowledged the letter sent by the council and are currently taking the matter into consideration. United have also reportedly been in favour of a later kickoff and have sent their own suggestion to the board.
In an official statement hteCouncil have said, “Following an approach from Manchester United, Trafford Council’s Safety Advisory Group have written to Uefa highlighting that it would not be safe to hold this fixture at 6pm with spectators in the stadium.”
“This is due to problems with the club being able to ensure that the required numbers of security, stewarding and medical staff would be available due to the proposed early kick-off time.”
“The Safety Advisory Group and Manchester United have no concerns with the fixture being played at the alternative time of 8.05pm on the same date.
United to face Liverpool for the first time in a European competition
The Europa League has garnered a lot of attention in the last few weeks after Liverpool and Manchester United were pitted against each other in the round of 16. This will be the first time that the two giants will face each other in a European competition in their history.
Usually, the UEFA Champions League always takes centre stage in terms of popularity but it's safe to say the Europa league will receive a lot of attention this time as the north-western rivalry is set to be reignited.
Both Liverpool and Manchester United picked up wins in the Premier League recently after wins against Manchester City and Watford respectively The first tie is set to be played on the 10th of March at 8.05pm at Anfield.
