The second leg Round of 16 clash between RB Leipzig and Liverpool in the Champions League will also be held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest after Leipzig had to decline travelling to Anfield for Liverpool’s home leg.
This is due to the coronavirus protocols that state that the German club will have to isolate for fourteen days upon their return to the country. They have since declined travelling to England to play the second leg, and the Puskas Arena will play host to both the legs between the two teams.
German media outlet Bild reports that die Rottenbullen will have to pay UEFA £1.3 million, which is 10% of the £13 million that teams pay the organising body to enter the competition. Liverpool also paid that amount when they had to travel to Budapest to play the first leg, which deprived Leipzig of their home turf.
Leipzig’s commercial director Florian Scholz told Bild: ‘We cannot play the game in Liverpool due to the corona rules. So Liverpool had to look for a new venue.
‘Therefore, as the visiting club, according to UEFA regulations, we are obliged to pay compensation.’
The Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, Udinese’s home ground, and stadia from Romania and Cyprus were possibilities, however circumstances prevented the selection of a different venue for the meeting between the two teams.
Liverpool go into the match with a two goal advantage and will be hoping to progress to the last eight to counterbalance their disappointing performances in the Premier League as of late.
