Wednesday 13 May 2020 11:52, UK
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson insists the potential problem of fans congregating outside stadiums would not be unique to Merseyside.
Attempts to restart the season are continuing, but the issue of neutral venues were knocked back on Monday where the vast majority of Premier League clubs expressed opposition to the plan.
In the event football resumes as planned in June, there are growing fears fans could gather outside stadiums as it is the preference of clubs to fulfil their home and away fixtures.
This could be especially true at Anfield where Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top and closing in on their first top division title since 1990, but Anderson has called on everybody to work collaboratively to find a compromise - even if neutral venues are required.
"It doesn't matter what football club it was that was in the position that Liverpool are in, whether they were a London club, a Midlands club, a Manchester club or a Liverpool-based club, the issues would be similar," Anderson told Sky Sports News.
"After a 30-year wait, people would be excited, people would want to go out and celebrate."
Earlier this month Anderson suggested a return for football was a "non-starter" and could give rise to "farcical" scenes, leading Liverpool to express disappointment and insist there was "a lack of evidence to support such claims" that fans would gather outside Anfield.
Clubs are expected to outline, in conjunction with local police forces, measures to deter supporters from turning up to stadiums where fixtures are taking place.
However under the terms of the new government guidelines announced on Sunday, car journeys of an unlimited distance are now permitted, raising question marks about whether a match held elsewhere in the country would even deter spectators from travelling.
On Monday at a meeting of Premier League stakeholders, it was agreed they would attempt to convince the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to renege on the need for neutral venues.
"Clearly the Everton-Liverpool game is the next game on the fixture list for Liverpool Football Club and there is a proposal put forward that North West clubs should play their games in London and London clubs should play their games in the Midlands or the North West, to make sure that there is a distance that fans shouldn't or can't travel," Anderson said when discussing neutral venues.
Anderson, however, remained unmoved and reiterated that a compromise arrangement would be difficult to reach but that must remain the aim.
"One thing is for sure, we have got to work together to arrange the games, not just the derby match, but other games too if we can," he added.
"I am sure we can but it is going to be really difficult."
