Manchester City and Liverpool supporters have united in a bid to get the FA Cup semi-final between the two clubs moved away from Wembley due to travel difficulties facing fans.
The showpiece fixture - scheduled for April 16 or 17 - should be a highlight of the season, but supporters of both clubs are faced with an Easter weekend travel nightmare. National Rail are conducting engineering works between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central that weekend - as is often the case over the Easter period - meaning that there will be no direct trains running between Manchester or Liverpool and the capital.
While it will be possible to reach London by travelling across to Sheffield and then south to London St Pancras, the last of these services that would get City supporters back to Manchester the same night of the game (if the match is on the Saturday) leaves London at 19:37. If the game kicks-off at 17:30, as has been the case with recent semi-finals, then supporters would have no chance of catching the last train home.
READ MORE: Man City fans face travel nightmare for FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool FC
On Monday, the FA released a statement claiming that they 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." Given that National Rail plan engineering works months in advance, supporters of both clubs are pointing the finger at the FA and asking their clubs to step in to put fans first.
On Monday, Spirit of Shankly and the 1894 group released a joint statement that read: "The FA statement on the matter claims they are looking for a solution and twice mentions supporters, yet fails to include us in any ongoing conversation. We are asking both clubs, the FA and Wembley to reconsider where this game is played and, for once, to put the fans at the forefront of their thinking.
"City and Liverpool are less than 40 miles apart and there are plenty of grounds big enough far closer than Wembley to stage such a prestigious game. We appreciate that ties of this magnitude need forward planning, but the issue of how two sets of supporters will be able to travel and watch their teams has been ignored.
"Network Rail will have had their works scheduled, as is often the case over public holidays, for months. Did the FA in their planning of such a large-scale event not think to check for disruption to travelling fans in advance? We urge those in charge to think again and move the venue."
Neither City nor Liverpool have publicly addressed the issue, and it is not clear what measures the FA is discussing with the two clubs. Pep Guardiola's side booked their place in the semi-finals with a 4-1 win at Southampton on Sunday afternoon, before Liverpool followed suit with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
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