Match crowd risk denied

Apr 24 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL FC officials last night flatly denied there was any overcrowd-ing or risk to safety at Tuesday’s Champions League clash.

Police and stadium chiefs were yesterday alerted to allegations that The Kop had become overcrowded and fans put at risk.

Match commander Chf Supt Dave Lewis said: “Merseyside Police is investigating these claims as overcrowding is a very serious issue and needs to be addressed.”

But Ged Poynton, head of operations at Anfield said that the crowd fell below capacity. A Cham-pions League maxi-mum is 42,800 but only 42,150 attended. “No one is saying the odd one or two couldn’t get through but we run a good operation.”

He said persistent standing is an issue. “When that happens certain fans migrate into other areas and could double up.’’