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Liverpool have condemned their own supporters for “wholly unacceptable” behaviour after they defied social distancing rules in the city for the second consecutive night to celebrate the club’s first league title in 30 years.
Jurgen Klopp’s side secured the club’s first ever Premier League title on Thursday after Manchester City lost at Chelsea and the fans flocked to Anfield to party.
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Despite a warning from the police, supporters gathered once more on Friday evening and launched fireworks at the Royal Liver Building. The fire brigade attended the celebrations after a fire broke out on the balcony of the landmark owned by Farhad Moshiri, the majority shareholder of the side’s local rivals Everton.
Liverpool issued a joint statement with the Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council on Saturday: “Throughout the last week, Liverpool Football Club, Merseyside Police, Liverpool City Council and Spirit of Shankly have worked together to consistently remind people that the region is still disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and ask people to celebrate LFC’s Premier League title win safely.
“Several thousand people turned up at the Pier Head on Friday June 26 and some chose to ignore the social distancing guidance and risk public safety. Our city is still in a public health crisis and this behaviour is wholly unacceptable.
“The potential danger of a second peak of COVID-19 still exists and we need to work together to make sure we don’t undo everything that has been achieved as a region during lockdown.
“When it is safe to do so, we will all work together to arrange a victory parade when everyone can come together to celebrate. Until that time, the safety of our city and our people continues to be our number one priority.”
All Premier League games have been held behind closed doors since the restart, meaning fans were not allowed in the stadium when Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 4-0 on Wednesday.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson also criticised the supporters on social media and said their actions had brought a “negative focus” on the football club.
Liverpool return to league action on Thursday when they face former champions City at the Etihad Stadium.
Information from Reuters was included in this report.