BBC reporter explains UEFA fixture ruling and what it might mean for Liverpool next month | OneFootball

One journalist has sought to provide clarity regarding the possibility of a Liverpool fixture next month being moved due to Champions League scheduling.

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As it stands, the Reds are due to host Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday 15 March, which for both teams falls in between the two legs of their round-of-16 ties in Europe’s main club competition.

The second legs are due to take place on 17/18 March, and should either of the aforementioned teams be pencilled in for the earlier date (which is a Tuesday), it’d see the domestic fixture brought forward to the preceding Saturday.

However, BBC reporter Dale Johnson has explained why Arsenal’s Premier League match against Everton on Sunday 15th is set to be moved, rather than the Liverpool v Spurs game.

Why Liverpool v Spurs is likely to remain on Sunday 15 March

He outlined (via X): ‘Unpicking the Premier League’s fixture announcement around the Champions League games. Means it looks pretty certain that: Arsenal play their UCL games Weds, March 11 and Tuesday, March 17. Liverpool and Tottenham play their UCL games Tues, March 10 and Wednesday, March 18.

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

‘This is because Liverpool v Tottenham is not under threat of being moved from Sunday, March 15. Therefore, their UCL second-leg ties must be pencilled in for the Wednesday. Arsenal and Tottenham cannot play at home on the same day, so Arsenal’s second leg tie must be Tuesday.

‘That therefore also means that Arsenal v Everton will move back to Saturday, March 14. Until UEFA confirm the fixture days, which is after the draws on Friday, the Premier League cannot say that definitively. But you can read between the lines.’

Why is Liverpool’s game less likely to be changed?

Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs will all have the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 ties at home as they finished in the top eight of the league phase, and the two north London rivals can’t host European fixtures on the same night.

UEFA guidelines over stadium and city clashes stipulate that no more than one match should be played in the same city/cities/venue within a 50-kilometre (31-mile) radius of each other on the same day, in order to ensure adequate policing and security resources. 

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Whilst no explicit reason has been provided as to why the Gunners’ domestic game is more likely to be moved, we’d proffer the suggestion that only having to move one team involved in European competition rather than two would be preferable for the Premier League.

Indeed, the English top-flight’s official website states that the Arsenal-Everton fixture could be moved due to Champions League scheduling, but makes no such mention for Liverpool v Spurs.

What does this mean for Liverpool?

What this all means for the Reds is that they’ll have a relatively gentler gap between their first four games in March, and then three in seven days (including one turnaround of little more than 60 hours) just before the international break.

*Probable but unconfirmed

For fans attending the Spurs game on the Sunday, it means that logistical plans around getting to Anfield for that day are unlikely to be discommoded by a late scheduling change.

Of course, none of this will be made cast-iron official until after the Champions League round-of-16 draw on Friday, when Liverpool will discover exactly who they’re playing, but Johnson has our gratitude for succinctly explaining what could’ve been a potential minefield for Kopites.