Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotheram has co-written a letter to the FA with his Manchester counterpart Andy Burnham over the decision to host the cup semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester City at Wembley.
The call so far to keep the game in London has caused controversy due to scheduled railway works effectively denying both sets of supporters in the north west the option to travel to Wembley via train. The matter has also been raised by respective supporters' groups from both clubs.
It has since been reported that the FA were made aware of the plans in 2019 . This has led to Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham accusing the FA of having “failed to give due thought and consideration to the interests of supporters” in their joint-letter, addressed to FA chair Debbie Hewitt.
READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold sends injury update as Liverpool recovery begins
PAUL GORST: What Roberto Firmino has done after Luis Diaz signing asks Liverpool future question
An extract of the statement reads: “Over the last year, we have heard the slogan 'football without fans is nothing' many times. If this decision is left to stand, and people are either priced out of this game or unable to attend for other reasons, those words will be meaningless to many.”
Both Rotheram and Burnham have called for the match to be moved away from Wembley to a venue that is more accessible to fans situated within the north west. As well as the inconvenient rail links, the letter also cites fuel costs, traffic implications and the environmental impact as further reasons for the match to be relocated.
The statement continues: “Without quick, direct trains, many people will be left with no option but to drive, fly, make overly complex rail journeys or book overnight accommodation. When you factor in the rising costs of fuel, it is clear that supporters of both clubs attending this game will face excessive cost and inconvenience - and that is before any environmental impact is considered.”
Rotheram and Burnham add: "We understand that the engineering works on the West Coast Mainline have been scheduled since 2019 and that the FA was explicitly made aware of them last autumn. Given that, and the high likelihood that a Liverpool or Manchester team would make this stage of the competition, we can only conclude that the FA had again failed to give due thought and consideration to the interests of supporters.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has also shared his thoughts at the weekend on how Reds supporters will be impacted if the game remains at Wembley. The German coach voiced his disbelief that supporters would be unable to travel by train.
“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.”
Read the full joint letter from Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham below
The FA Cup is a proud English tradition - and no region has a richer or more successful relationship with the competition than the north west.
As you will know, Liverpool and Manchester City will contest one of this season's semi-finals over the Easter Weekend. However, as you will also be aware, Network Rail are undertaking works to the railway that means no services will be running between either Liverpool or Manchester and the capital over that same weekend.
This leaves tens of thousands of fans from all over our region in an unfair position - as supporters’ groups from both clubs have made clear today.
We are writing in support of them. Without quick, direct trains, many people will be left with no option but to drive, fly, make overly complex rail journeys or book overnight accommodation. When you factor in the rising costs of fuel, it is clear that supporters of both clubs attending this game will face excessive cost and inconvenience - and that is before any environmental impact is considered.
There are also significant logistical and safety considerations. With thousands of fans making the long journey south, there will be huge numbers converging on the M6, which is likely to be stretched to capacity by bank holiday traffic. A single accident would risk the entire motorway being brought to a standstill and fans missing the kick-off.
We understand that the engineering works on the West Coast Mainline have been scheduled since 2019 and that the FA was explicitly made aware of them last autumn. Given that, and the high likelihood that a Liverpool or Manchester team would make this stage of the competition, we can only conclude that the FA had again failed to give due thought and consideration to the interests of supporters.
Over the last year, we have heard the slogan “football without fans is nothing” many times. If this decision is left to stand, and people are either priced out of this game or unable to attend for other reasons, those words will be meaningless to many.
We believe the most obvious solution is to move this game to a more accessible stadium and offer to work constructively with you to make that happen. We also ask you to work with supporters’ groups from both clubs to find a resolution acceptable to all parties that allows this game to be the celebration of two great teams we all want it to be.
We look forward to your response.
