Soccer

Liverpool ban mascots from Anfield pitch amid coronavirus fears

Liverpool won't allow mascots on the pitch at Anfield as part of the club's measures to guard aga...

Richie McCormack

@richiemccormack

Soccer

Richie McCormack

@richiemccormack

Liverpool won't allow mascots on the pitch at Anfield as part of the club's measures to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

The Premier League leaders have revealed a number of measures with the aim of keeping COVID-19 away from the club.

As of Thursday afternoon, the number of coronavirus cases in the UK had risen to 115. England's North West had accounted for 17 of those cases according to NHS figures.

Source: NHS England

Liverpool say they've cancelled "any travel to high-risk countries" while reminding everyone of good hygiene practices around Anfield and other club facilities.

Club manager Jurgen Klopp won near universal praise for his answer when asked about the potential threat of the coronavirus on his club's fortunes, telling reporters after their FA Cup defeat to Chelsea, "It’s not important what famous people say. People with knowledge will talk about it ... not football managers."

"It’s not important what famous people say. People with knowledge will talk about it ... not football managers."

Liverpool Football Club manager Jurgen Klopp dismissed questions about coronavirus, insisting his opinion on the subject is irrelevant. https://t.co/GtB7e8eZdN pic.twitter.com/fB8LZeMk1Y

— CNN (@CNN) March 5, 2020

Following back-to-back defeats on the road, Liverpool welcome Bournemouth to Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday.

The club say there'll be extra "hand sanitisers and/or antibacterial handwash in all the washrooms at Anfield" for fans on matchday.

The Liverpool statement in full reads:

"In recent weeks, there has been a rise of confirmed COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) cases around the world. We have several new measures in place across LFC operations to help prevent the spread of the virus and protect the health of our employees.

We have taken proactive measures including cancelling any staff travel to high-risk countries and reminding everyone of good hygiene practices through notices in/around all our sites. We have also activated a health questionnaire screening for all external visitors to all our training facilities, our office locations and other community facilities that we use regularly.

For supporters planning on attending Anfield there will be hand sanitisers and/or antibacterial handwash in all the washrooms at Anfield as well as additional information posters reinforcing the official medical advice for everyone to take personal responsibility for excellent personal hygiene. We are also taking matchday precautionary measures and will not have any mascots on the pitch.

Any supporter displaying symptoms that are consistent with the virus should ensure they familiarise themselves with the chief medical officer’s advice on self-isolation.

We will continue to take the best advice from the relevant authorities and will update supporters with any further developments."