Liverpool expected to avoid UEFA punishment despite minor breach of little-known regulation
Liverpool’s preparations for tonight’s Champions League meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt have been far from smooth.
With pressure mounting after four consecutive defeats, Arne Slot and his players could have done without the four-hour delay to their flight to Germany on Tuesday afternoon, caused by a technical fault with the aircraft.
The setback meant the team didn’t leave Merseyside until 8pm—around 90 minutes after their scheduled pre-match press conference—which was ultimately cancelled.
Possible UEFA fine?
According to the Liverpool Echo, this technically breaches Article 48 of UEFA’s Champions League regulations, which requires clubs to arrive at the match venue the evening before the game and to fulfil all media commitments. As a result, UEFA could, in theory, impose a fine if the match delegate includes the incident in their official report.
However, given that the delay was completely out of Liverpool’s control, any punishment is considered unlikely.
No fault on Liverpool’s part
It’s only fair that Liverpool avoid sanctions, as the technical issue—and the subsequent delay—were beyond their responsibility. Safety naturally takes precedence, and UEFA appear set to apply common sense rather than rigidly enforcing the rulebook.
While any fine would have been insignificant financially, the principle remains important. The disruption was certainly not ideal for Slot and his team during such a poor run of form, but the manager has already insisted that it can’t be used as an excuse if results fail to improve tonight.
The Reds did eventually arrive in Frankfurt, giving them the full day to prepare for the game. Their opponents, Eintracht, have been even more attack-minded this season—scoring 30 goals but conceding 24 in just 10 matches—prompting coach Dino Toppmoller to make a change in goal for this fixture.
From a Liverpool perspective, fans will simply hope this marks the turning point in what has been a miserable few weeks.
