For those reds going to Madrid

You'll be alright AussieRed.

'Call that a knife? This is a knife...'

 

You'll be alright AussieRed.

'Call that a knife? This is a knife...'

 

You'll be alright AussieRed.

'Call that a knife? This is a knife...'

  Brilliant

Response from the club

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Follow-up-meeting-with-Rick-Parry.html

14. Atletico Madrid away game.

The SOS discussed the trouble at the Atletico-Marseilles game; along with previous incidents with Bolton etc. LFC had representatives at the Marseilles game who had reported back to the club. RP and GP had then travelled out to Madrid to meet with representatives from Atletico and the Madrid police, along with the British Consul. The club were impressed with the seriousness of the Consul with regards to the fans safety. They presented the Madrid authorities with a list of actions that they felt would minimise the repetition of these previous incidents, and have discussed with Atletico ways to make access to the stadium less fraught and less liable to confrontations arising than it has been previously. LFC will have many stewards available on the night, and the club are not expecting there to be any trouble during our visit.

SOS has said it would be passing on any further news and advice to all Liverpool fans attending the game.

So just before I get tw**ed with a rubber cosh, I should simply shout out little Louis name and the nasty police man will desist?

Very mature post,what age are you???

Very mature post,what age are you???

Bloody hell he's only having a laugh you miserable sod.

you think the foreign police are bad...have you been to west/south yorkshire...or stoke they are worse, treated me a like apiece of cattle, no wonder some people spit at them , they purposfully nose their horses towards the crowd

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7668854.stm

Liverpool's Champions League opponents Atletico Madrid must play their next two home matches away from the Calderon Stadium as a result of racist abuse.

The Uefa ban follows the treatment of Marseille fans during and after Atletico's 2-1 win a fortnight ago.

Monkey chants were aimed at the French club's players, while the Marseille team bus was attacked after the match.

The Liverpool game, on 22nd October, will be held at a neutral venue 200 miles from Madrid which has yet to be chosen.
The Spanish club have also been fined a record £150,000 by European governing body Uefa.

The decision to move the Liverpool game from Madrid will deny former Atletico striker Fernando Torres the chance to return to his former home ground when the Reds look to maintain their 100% start to their European campaign next month.

Atletico must also play PSV away from the Vicente Calderon Stadium on 26 November.

"Atletico are shocked by the news," reports BBC Radio 5 Live's Ashish Sharma.

"Basically Uefa are unhappy with the way the police treated Marseille fans. They forced them to remove banners and they refused to escort the team bus from the training ground to the stadium, which was then attacked.


"The coach (Javier Aguirre) has also been banned for two matches for abusing a Marseille player and there has been a record £150,000 fine for Marseille for monkey chanting and racist abuse by the fans."

A Uefa spokesman said the ruling was part of the organisation "acting with renewed strength" against racism.

News of the suspension comes a day after the Football Association refused to sanction a plan to stage an England friendly against Spain in Madrid because of the racist abuse suffered by the likes of Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips the last time they played there.

The punishment appears to be a lot harsher than that imposed upon Croatia a month ago.

Their FA was fined just £15,000 by world governing body Fifa after their supporters aimed monkey chants at Emile Heskey during England's World Cup qualifying 4-1 victory.

However, Gaillard denied "double standards", saying: "That was a Fifa fine, not a Uefa fine.

"We have no direct influence on Fifa decisions at all. But if we had been in charge, the punishment would have been a lot heavier."



So it looks like the game will not be played any where near to Madrid now. Liverpool's travelling supporters will have to find another route to the new ground.
I'm sure DonRafa will be of help to anybody.

That'll be our game on 22nd Oct then BBC! 

Offical response from .tv

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N161683081014-1122.htm

Liverpool have written to UEFA to express their strong concerns over the timing of the decision to move next week's Champions League game against Atletico away from Madrid. 
"To say the decision is a bit late in the day, is to put it mildly," said chief executive Rick Parry.
 
"We have 3,000 fans going to the game and we are extremely concerned for our supporters, the vast majority of whom have already made travel arrangements.
 
"If the match is played at least 300 kilometres from Madrid, it will cause major disruption, inconvenience and large additional expense for our fans.
 
"UEFA have to take their needs into account when making a final decision on the game." 

Bloody ridiculous in this day and age that a club such as Athletico playing in the champions league would treat opposition fans in such a way.  As much as it's a shi**er that they have moved it away from Madrid it's sounds like it's for the best.  But that still does not make it right to have to change travel plans at such short notice.  Good old uefa eh? 

Any idea where it will be if not there?

Any idea where it will be if not there?

Wonder how far Nou Camp is from Madrid! 

Hi I am Spanish and Atletico Madrid fan and Fernando Torres. Here in spain are you will receive with open arms by what I saw in your forums, say that the Spanish police is very strong, and really it's because we stick to us too, is not alone with those coming from abroad, is a pity that we have to change their stadium and city, because you are going to do a great reception. Since spain hear that your president sent a fax to UEFA saying they want to play at the Vicente Calderon, and that is very hasty change of stadium in the absence of one week for the celebration of the party

As well as our fans, I really do feel for Torres. He will have been looking forward to playing at Atletico since the groups were announced. I bet he's absolutely gutted. Hopefully he'll get a chance to play there with us in the future.

Surely UEFA can't have power over where they play their home games? I thought that would have been the Spanish FA or FIFA?

Also, this means that Atlético lose their home advantage ... and that's not fair on them or their fans. I wanted proper competition between our teams, and now it looks like we got "lucky" again according to some Mancs I know.

UEFA really do piss me off sometimes.

Liverpool FC fans are the biggest victims of UEFA bombshell
Oct 14 2008 By Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo

UEFA does not care about football fans – that is the only logical conclusion that can be drawn from today’s decision to switch Liverpool’s Champions League game at Atletico Madrid just eight days before it is due to be played.

With thousands of Liverpool supporters having already made their travel arrangements at no little expense to themselves, the decision to move the game to a neutral venue more than 300km away is little more than an act of sabotage.

UEFA claim they are punishing Atletico for the crowd trouble and racist chanting which marred their recent home game against Marseille but the biggest victims of their punitive reaction are the Liverpool fans.

Not that anyone should be surprised though. Going on UEFA’s recent record, fans never feature anywhere near the top of their agenda.

Think back to the last time Liverpool were in the European Cup final two years ago. That game was played in an athletics stadium with no functioning turnstiles, precious few toilet facilities and riot police in charge of crowd control instead of stewards.

Before that game even took place, senior Liverpool officials voiced their concerns to European football’s governing body but their pleas were ignored and the chaos that followed was almost as predictable as the litany of excuses and finger pointing from UEFA’s head office.

Only last week, UEFA president Michel Platini used a visit to Liverpool to outline his concern that foreign ownership of clubs is taking football further and further away from the fans.

Platini’s concerns are perfectly valid of course but surely if he genuinely has the best interests of supporters at heart the Frenchman should be ensuring that games take place where and when they are supposed to and not moved to locations hundreds of miles away just days before they are due to take place.

If Atletico deserve punishment for what happened against Marseille then fair enough. No-one would deny UEFA the right to mete out whatever penalties they deem necessary against clubs who fail to control their fans, particularly if racism has reared its ugly head.

But there must be a procedure in place which takes into account the needs of travelling fans and that has certainly not happened in this case.

Had the game been moved to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium it would have been understandable. Similarly, Seville is not too far away from the Spanish capital and can be reached fairly easily by road or rail.

Valencia, which is being mentioned as the likely neutral venue, is further away from Madrid than London is for Liverpool and getting to and from there is both expensive and time consuming.

If Liverpool were taking no fans with them for this fixture the decision would be fine but they have already sold around 2,500 tickets for what is an eagerly awaited clash with Fernando Torres’s former club and those supporters who are making the trip are set to be put at the most enormous inconvenience.

The problem is UEFA’s bigwigs just don’t get it. They have never understood football supporters and the likelihood is they never will.

When they travel to matches they fly first class and are met at the airport by a chauffeur who takes them to a top five star hotel – all at UEFA’s expense.

Using budget airlines to navigate your way around Europe and booking hotels well in advance to get the best possible deals is not in their nature because they have never needed to do it.

Fans of clubs taking part in European competition have to if they want to see their heroes in action though and it is their needs which were yet again forgotten when today’s scandalously ridiculous decision was taken.

UEFA have once again messed up and once again it is the ordinary fans who are the victims.

They could still put the situation right should they choose to but as football supporters know from past experience the chances of UEFA coming to their senses and admitting they’ve got it wrong are about as slim as those of Alex Ferguson standing on the Kop and belting out You’ll Never Walk Alone

Wonder how far Nou Camp is from Madrid! 

Nar for a club of our stature i think we need a bigger ground than that tinpot ground

This is absolutely disgraceful and totally unacceptable.

The way Uefa have treated Liverpool fans over this  is testimony to how they feel about the everyday footie fan, ie; they couldn't give a sh*t.

I feel very sorry for Aussie Red (who is totally gutted over this news) he has travelled half way round the world and then this happens  and for anyone else who has already put plans into operation.

Very angry indeed 

More from the echo:


LIVERPOOL’S Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid has been switched to a neutral venue more than 300km away from the Spanish capital – just eight days before the game is due to take place.
UEFA has ordered the Spanish club to play their next two European games away from their home ground – the Vincente Calderon Stadium – following crowd disorder there during their last Champions League game against Marseille.
Liverpool were informed of the development this morning and are awaiting further information from European football’s governing body.
Reds chiefs have been left stunned by the lateness of the decision, particularly as Liverpool have almost sold their full allocation of tickets for the eagerly awaited clash with Fernando Torres’ former club.
With thousands of Liverpool supporters set to make the trip to Madrid – many will have arranged and paid for travel and accommodation by now – it remains to be seen if UEFA will compensate those who lose out financially.
Atletico are appealing against the decision, but early indications are that the game is now likely to take place in Valencia.

Reds chief executive Rick Parry told the ECHO: “This is a bit late in the day to say the least. It will be some exercise to sort the logistics for everyone who has bought tickets and flights.”
Liverpool were today contacting UEFA with the utmost urgency to ask them to take into account the needs of the fans who will be the innocent victims of this decision if Atletico’s appeal is unsuccessful.

Parry added: “We are extremely concerned for our supporters, the vast majority of whom have already made travel arrangements.
“What thought is being given to their needs? We are writing to UEFA to express our concern on this score.”
UEFA’s ruling comes after Atletico’s game against Marseille was marred by crowd disorder and racist chanting.
Marseille president Pape Diouf made an official complaint to UEFA after supporters clashed with baton- wielding police in an incident which lasted for more than 10 minutes.

UEFA have taken the punitive action against Atletico as a result, but the punishment will also have an effect on Liverpool’s travelling fans.
A UEFA spokesman said: “Club Atletico de Madrid have been handed a stadium ban for three UEFA club competition matches by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Committee, following incidents at the UEFA Champions League Group D game against Olympique de Marseille on October 1.
“The ban for the third UEFA club competition match is deferred for a probationary period of five years, meaning that if Atletico progress to the knockout stages they could be allowed to return to the Vicente Calderon. Atletico were charged with a lack of organisation at the match.”
which led to crowd incidents, and for the improper conduct of their supporters.
“The Spanish club were also fined 150,000 euros for the offences.
“Consequently, Atletico must play their next two home UEFA Champions League matches in a stadium situated at least 300km from Madrid.
“The two-match stadium ban will apply to Atletico's games against Liverpool FC on 22 October, and against PSV Eindhoven on 26 November.”

Liverpool fan John Mackin is among the 2,500 Reds supporters who have already booked their trip to Madrid.
He said: “My initial reaction when I first heard about this was that the game would perhaps be switched to the Bernabeu (Real Madrid’s ground) because moving it to another city at this stage would punish the Liverpool fans more than anyone else.
“But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the game will be played 300km away because we already know to our cost that when UEFA makes decisions like this the fans are their last consideration.
“This is a massive game for the Liverpool fans because not only is it a Champions League game in one of Europe’s best cities it is also Fernando Torres’s first game against his former club.
“Thousands of fans have already bought tickets and paid for accommodation and flights so to move the game to another city hunderds of miles away at such a late stage is absolutely ridiculous.”
A spokesman for fans group Spirit of Shankly said: “This is the latest in a long line of outrageous decisions by UEFA who seem wholly incapable of making rational decisions.
“The Marseille game was played two weeks ago and yet UEFA wait until now to make a decision when those fans lucky enough to get tickets have confirmed their travel arrangements and we understand from a meeting with Liverpool Football Club that they have already put in place detailed security arrangements with both Atletico and the Spanish police.
“We would appeal to UEFA to reconsider this decison and that any action against Atletico should be taken after the Liverpool game.”

Paul Anderson, from Orrell Park, said: “UEFA’s decision to play the game at a neutral venue is a complete joke, surely they could have come to this decision earlier than one week before the game?
“I’ve had this trip booked for over a month and arrive in Madrid on the Wednesday morning, meaning we won’t arrive in the Spanish capital until 2pm.
“That leaves six hours to find a way to the opposite side of Spain, where 3,000 Reds will also be making their way, and possibly Atletico fans who will still want to go to the match.
“The hotel has been booked and I’m disapointed as the whole thing looks like a waste of money at the minute.
“William Gaillard can say Liverpool fans shouldn’t be punished for something which isn’t our fault. Well Mr Gaillard, I’m afraid we have been punished, as the chances are we won’t see the match.
“European Cup Finals in Olympic stadiums? Vital games in countries where a visa is needed two weeks before the game? This just adds to the long list of errors made by UEFA’s fat cats.”

F***ing ridiculous.

AussieRed was the first person I thought of, lets hope that they see sense and AM win their appeal.

Its disgusting the treatment the fans get, UEFA should be ashamed of themselves to implement such a ridiculous idea a week before the game 

Taken from RAWK:

What about tickets for the new venue?
No one seems to be concerned over that!

It took the club weeks to announce selling arrangements and tickets were then sold over the course of a week+

How do we sort tickets for the new game?  What if our allocation is less than 3000?

Smiggs, after '85 we're UEFA's worst enemy according to the guys on RAWK.