Liverpool have asked for their FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester City at Wembley next month to be moved.
Thousands of fans will face a logistical nightmare for the game after it was confirmed there would be no trains running from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston between April 15 and 18.
Avanti West Coast confirmed it will not be running any trains into the capital from the North West over Easter weekend because of engineering work scheduled to take place across a number of locations. The travel company said further work is also slated on the West Coast Main Line, which will cause further alterations and disruption.
Calls have been growing all week for a change of venue with both Liverpool supporters' union, Spirit of Shankly, and their Man City equivalent, WeAre1894, releasing a joint statement on Monday evening. Metro Mayor, Steve Rotherham, and his Greater Manchester counterpart, Andy Burnham, also released statement on Tuesday evening calling for an urgent review over where the semi-final would be held.
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The ECHO understands the issue is being discussed at the highest level at Liverpool as they seek to find a resolution for their supporters. The club have been in talks with Man City and the Football Association since Jurgen Klopp's side beat Nottingham Forest in the quarter-final tie on Sunday evening.
Liverpool have asked for the venue to be changed as they continue to assess how best to help out fans' travel dilemma for the game at the national stadium.
The governing body are reluctant to move the game to the North West, however, with one source saying: "The revenue generated by the semi-finals being at Wembley Stadium is incredibly important for English football as The FA is a not-for-profit organisation and ensures that it is reinvested back into the game."
The FA also point to Manchester United's hosting Norwich City at Old Trafford on Saturday April 16 and the fact that Wembley holds the largest capacity in the country at 90,000, which theoretically allows more supporters of both clubs to watch the game live.
It means the Reds may be forced to look at alternative ways of helping their fans get to the match if the FA refuse to budge over the calls for another neutral ground to be sourced.
Earlier this week, the ECHO learned that the FA were made aware of the planned rail works for that weekend as far back as November 2019 before they were written to in September to consider a move because of the potential for rail disruption.
A spokesperson said : "The FA will be liaising closely with both Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC on all match arrangements, including supporters travel for the upcoming Emirates FA Cup Semi Final fixture at Wembley Stadium, with further details to be announced in due course.
"We are also continuing to work with both Network Rail and National Express to find a solution so that supporters of both teams are able to travel to and from the fixture with as minimal disruption as possible."
Klopp was asked about the situation after the 1-0 win at Forest on Sunday night and while the Liverpool manager was unaware of the issue at the time, he said he hoped there could be a resolution to a problem that will likely affect tens of thousands.
“How is that possible? The whole of the north west is cut off from the rest of England?,” Klopp said . “I don’t know which kinds of solutions are available but I hope somebody finds one. If we could play with supporters that would be really good - for both teams.”
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