Fans gathering at the Liverpool city centre for a second night in a row to celebrate their team’s Premier League title win have been urged to return to their homes due to fears of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Liverpool’s 30-year wait for their 19th English top-flight title ended on Thursday after second-placed Manchester City were beaten by Chelsea. Thousands of fans turned up at the Anfield Stadium to celebrate the win.
Watch every goal that secured the @premierleague title ?
All 7️⃣0️⃣ strikes ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jQvG6DkVZq
— Liverpool FC (Premier League Champions ?) (@LFC) June 27, 2020
Merseyside Police issued a dispersal order after crowds gathered for a second consecutive night on Friday at the city centre. The police said the order would remain in force until Sunday.
Liverpool mayor, Joe Anderson, urged fans to return home after pictures of the crowd near the Mersey Ferry terminal emerged on social media.
Britain has one of the world’s highest death tolls from the novel coronavirus. The country has reported more than 309 000 infections and over 43 400 deaths.
Liverpool manager, Juergen Klopp has warned his Premier League rivals that his team will not stop in their pursuit of more success after securing the title on Thursday.
“So, we knew and that’s clear in this league; when you want … if you want to win the league, you’re pretty much not allowed to lose any game. So, because city is usually not losing football games, that’s how it is. They’ve never stopped since Pep (Guardiola) is there. They’ve never stopped and we will try that as well. We will try not to stop. We will try to improve.”
But the German, who won the Champions League with Liverpool last season, said there was no guarantee of further glory.
“They understand how important it is to be self-confident on a high, high level but not overly confident that you think you are more important than others. Because without the others, we are nothing.”
A special interview with our @premierleague winning manager, Jürgen Klopp ?
— Liverpool FC (Premier League Champions ?) (@LFC) June 26, 2020
Goran Ivanisevic tests positive for COVID-19
Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is the latest to announce he has tested positive for COVID-19 following the ill-fated Adria Tour organised by Novak Djokovic.
Ivanisevic, who is part of Djokovic’s coaching set-up, said on Instagram that after two negative tests he had now tested positive.
World No. 1 Djokovic has been criticised after he, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, Croatia’s Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki of Serbia tested positive. This is after they played in the exhibition tournament.
Djokovic’s wife Jelena also tested positive, as did his fitness coach Marco Panichi and Dimitrov’s coach Christian Groh.
