Liverpool F.C.
RB Leipzig will not host Liverpool in the Champions League later this month after authorities ruled the English club cannot enter Germany because of coronavirus mutations in the UK, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. The match was set to take place in Leipzig on February 16, but the German federal police responsible for border control (the Bundespolizei) rejected RB's application for a special permit that would have allowed Jürgen Klopp's Premier League outfit to enter the country.
"The Coronavirus Protection Order agreed by the federal government last Friday envisions only a few exceptions and no special arrangements for professional athletes," the German Interior Ministry said in a statement.
After a draw made on Monday, UEFA Champions League round of 16 ties are:
- Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) vs Manchester City (ENG)
- Lazio (ITA) vs Bayern (GER)
- Atlético (ESP) vs Chelsea (ENG)
- Leipzig (GER) vs Liverpool (ENG)
- Porto (POR) vs Juventus (ITA)
- Barcelona (ESP) vs Paris (FRA)
- Sevilla (ESP) vs Borussia Dortmund (GER)
- Atalanta (ITA) vs Real Madrid (ESP)
The first legs are scheduled for 16/17 and 23/24 February, with the second legs on 9/10 and 16/17 March.
A tweet from the Egyptian FA said that testing results showed "our international player and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah to be infected with coronavirus ... despite not having any symptoms."
Photographs and videos of Salah - in some of the images, without a face mask to protect against the virus - dancing among dozens of people at his brother's wedding, held earlier this week in Cairo, have gone viral on the social media over the past days.
Salah's positive test result comes ahead of Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match on Saturday against Togo.
Arsenal opened the 2020/2021 season of English football by winning the Community Shield against Liverpool on penalties shootout 5:4, after a 1:1 draw in regular time. The match was played at the Wembley Stadium, in London.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the man of the game, after scoring for Arsenal and netting the winning penalty during the shootout. Aubameyang paid tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman during the celebration of his goal.
It is the second year in a row Liverpool have lost the Shield on penalties, after Manchester City's victory in 2019.
Liverpool won the first Premier League title in club history and ended a 30-year wait for English football supremacy after Manchester City lost 2-1 at Chelsea. With the adverse result, Manchester City's two-year reign is over as there are seven games to be played and Liverpool has a 23 points lead.