Uefa, European football's governing body, has told Claus Bo Larsen that it will offer him its full support if the Danish referee decides to halt Liverpool's Champions League tie against Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón Stadium this evening, should the match be marred by racist abuse.
Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, and José Manuel Reina, the club's goalkeeper, both of whom were born in Madrid, rejected claims last night that either the city or Spain had a problem with racism, but that has not prevented Uefa from encouraging Larsen to withdraw the teams, should there be a recurrence of the crowd trouble that blighted Atlético's previous European game against Marseilles this month.
Atlético were fined £120,000 by Uefa and banned from playing their next two Champions League matches at the Vicente Calderón or within 300 kilometres (about 186 miles) of Madrid, although it was allegations that the Spanish club's supporters had directed monkey chants at the black players in the Marseilles team that caused the most concern and invited widespread condemnation.
The suspension was temporarily lifted to allow Liverpool to play at the ground after Uefa accepted that it was in the interests of supporters who had booked their flights to and accommodation in the Spanish capital, but the race row that has engulfed Spain has refused to go away, even if Benítez and Reina were quick to rush to their country's defence.
England do not want to play another friendly against Spain at the Bernabéu, the home of Real Madrid, after their black players were subjected to racist abuse there in 2004, but Reina, whose father, Miguel, was a goalkeeper for Atlético and played in the club's 1974 European Cup final defeat on penalties by Bayern Munich, does not believe there is a problem and predicted that the game would pass without incident.
“There is no problem with racism here and there has never been a problem,” the Liverpool goalkeeper said. “It's because some people are talking about that now, mainly from England, but I can say that Spain is not a racist country and Madrid is not a racist city. The Vicente Calderón is always a difficult stadium to play in but there is always a nice atmosphere.”
Reina's sentiments were echoed by Benítez. “One hundred per cent, there is not a problem [with racism in Madrid or Spain],” the Liverpool manager said. “It's more or less the same as it is around the world. We don't want any problems and I don't think we will see any.”
Although trouble seems unlikely - Atlético's supporters have considerable respect for Liverpool, particularly because of the Spanish influence at the club - the episode has served to overshadow what should otherwise be an intriguing spectacle between the favourites to qualify from group D.
Both teams have recorded wins in their opening two matches and victory for either side tonight would go a long way towards guaranteeing qualification for the first knockout round. In Atlético's case, it would also ease the pressure that has mounted on Javier Aguirre, their coach, in the wake of a 6-1 loss to Barcelona and 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid on Saturday.
Although Liverpool have demonstrated remarkable resilience this season, coming from behind on five occasions to win, Xabi Alonso, the midfield player, spoke of the need to “get in front in matches because we're not always going to have the luck to come from behind” and Dirk Kuyt, who will be hoping to add to his record of ten goals in 17 Champions League appearances in the absence of Fernando Torres, believes that this is a “vital” week for the club, with Chelsea to play in the Barclays Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Torres spurned an invitation to attend the Atlético game so that he could stay in Liverpool in an effort to get fit for the Chelsea match, but while the former Atlético striker's absence has taken the gloss off the tie for some, there will be at least one in-form striker trying to put one over his former club. Florent Sinama-Pongolle has been a revelation in Spain since leaving Anfield in May last year, and with another Liverpool old boy, Luis García, in their ranks, Reina believes that Liverpool will have to be “at our best” to overcome Atlético.
Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, and José Manuel Reina, the club's goalkeeper, both of whom were born in Madrid, rejected claims last night that either the city or Spain had a problem with racism, but that has not prevented Uefa from encouraging Larsen to withdraw the teams, should there be a recurrence of the crowd trouble that blighted Atlético's previous European game against Marseilles this month.
Atlético were fined £120,000 by Uefa and banned from playing their next two Champions League matches at the Vicente Calderón or within 300 kilometres (about 186 miles) of Madrid, although it was allegations that the Spanish club's supporters had directed monkey chants at the black players in the Marseilles team that caused the most concern and invited widespread condemnation.
The suspension was temporarily lifted to allow Liverpool to play at the ground after Uefa accepted that it was in the interests of supporters who had booked their flights to and accommodation in the Spanish capital, but the race row that has engulfed Spain has refused to go away, even if Benítez and Reina were quick to rush to their country's defence.
England do not want to play another friendly against Spain at the Bernabéu, the home of Real Madrid, after their black players were subjected to racist abuse there in 2004, but Reina, whose father, Miguel, was a goalkeeper for Atlético and played in the club's 1974 European Cup final defeat on penalties by Bayern Munich, does not believe there is a problem and predicted that the game would pass without incident.
“There is no problem with racism here and there has never been a problem,” the Liverpool goalkeeper said. “It's because some people are talking about that now, mainly from England, but I can say that Spain is not a racist country and Madrid is not a racist city. The Vicente Calderón is always a difficult stadium to play in but there is always a nice atmosphere.”
Reina's sentiments were echoed by Benítez. “One hundred per cent, there is not a problem [with racism in Madrid or Spain],” the Liverpool manager said. “It's more or less the same as it is around the world. We don't want any problems and I don't think we will see any.”
Although trouble seems unlikely - Atlético's supporters have considerable respect for Liverpool, particularly because of the Spanish influence at the club - the episode has served to overshadow what should otherwise be an intriguing spectacle between the favourites to qualify from group D.
Both teams have recorded wins in their opening two matches and victory for either side tonight would go a long way towards guaranteeing qualification for the first knockout round. In Atlético's case, it would also ease the pressure that has mounted on Javier Aguirre, their coach, in the wake of a 6-1 loss to Barcelona and 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid on Saturday.
Although Liverpool have demonstrated remarkable resilience this season, coming from behind on five occasions to win, Xabi Alonso, the midfield player, spoke of the need to “get in front in matches because we're not always going to have the luck to come from behind” and Dirk Kuyt, who will be hoping to add to his record of ten goals in 17 Champions League appearances in the absence of Fernando Torres, believes that this is a “vital” week for the club, with Chelsea to play in the Barclays Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Torres spurned an invitation to attend the Atlético game so that he could stay in Liverpool in an effort to get fit for the Chelsea match, but while the former Atlético striker's absence has taken the gloss off the tie for some, there will be at least one in-form striker trying to put one over his former club. Florent Sinama-Pongolle has been a revelation in Spain since leaving Anfield in May last year, and with another Liverpool old boy, Luis García, in their ranks, Reina believes that Liverpool will have to be “at our best” to overcome Atlético.
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