March 22, (THEWILL) – Despite the fact that there will be no trains for the fans willing to travel down to London on the weekend of the next FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Liverpool, the English FA is unlikely to reschedule the fixture.
Due to railway engineering work on the weekend of April 16 and 17, there are no direct trains to the capital city, and fans will have to do an eight-hour round trip if they intend to see the game.
Supporters’ groups for both Liverpool and City have urged for the game to be moved to a location closer to both teams. These fans expressed their displeasure on Twitter, but there are presently no preparations to do so on the side of the FA.
A statement from the FA read: “The FA will be liaising closely with both Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC on all match arrangements, including supporters travel for the upcoming Emirates FA Cup semi-final fixture at Wembley Stadium, with further details to be announced in due course.
“We are also continuing to work with both Network Rail and National Express to find a solution so that supporters of both teams are able to travel to and from the fixture with as minimal disruption as possible.”
Spirit of Shankly, a leading Liverpool fan organisation, has denounced the FA’s inaction, saying: “For the other semi-final between Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Wembley makes sense. For Liverpool and City it makes no sense.
“The FA statement on the matter claims they are looking for a solution and twice mentions supporters, yet fails to include us in any ongoing conversation. We are asking both clubs, the FA and Wembley to reconsider where this game is played and, for once, to put the fans at the forefront of their thinking.
“City and Liverpool are less than 40 miles apart and there are plenty of grounds big enough far closer than Wembley to stage such a prestigious game.
“We appreciate ties of this magnitude need forward planning, but the issue of how two sets of supporters will be able to travel and watch their teams has been ignored.
“Network Rail will have had their works scheduled, as is often the case over public holidays, for months. Did the FA in their planning of such a large-scale event not think to check for disruption to travelling fans in advance?”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
