The controversial decision to allow Atletico Madrid’s Champions League clash at Liverpool on March 11 may have resulted in up to 41 Covid-19 related deaths.
According to an exclusive report from the Sunday Times, the decision to permit 3,000 Los Rojiblancos fans to travel to the UK may have led to a spike in cases in Merseyside.
Data from Imperial College London and Oxford University indicates that Spain had an estimated 640,000 infections prior to the match, with the UK figure standing closer to 100,000 in early March.
According to an NHS modelling assessment of Covid-19 hospital admissions and deaths in the region, it is estimated that allowing the game to go ahead may have significantly increased the death rate in local hospitals in the following five weeks.
UEFA have been heavily criticised for their decision not to either cancel the game, or play it behind closed doors, despite closing public access for PSG v Borussia Dortmund on the same night.
La Liga subsequently opted to suspend the top two tiers of Spanish football on March 12 for two weeks, before implementing an indefinite suspension on March 23.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has confirmed this weekend that the league can restart from June 8, with an exact resumption date expected next week.
The Premier League is yet to announce a formal date for the restart of their season, with clubs still in the process of large scale training ground testing.
Seven positive tests have been recorded from two rounds of tests within the English top flight, with full training sessions expected to be restricted until mid June.
