41 coronavirus deaths were recorded in the United Kingdom as a result of the UEFA Champions League match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.
Data from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), according to an analysis by Edge Health, shows that 41 more deaths were recorded about a month after the encounter.
The game was the last major match in England before the pandemic forced the country into lockdown. The UK had about 100,000 cases at the time but now has over 260,000 cases and 36,793 deaths.
The Daily Mail reports that 52,000 people watched the match inside Anfield on March 11 with about 3,000 Atletico supporters in the crowd.
While about 640,000 confirmed cases of the disease had been reported in Spain at the time businesses and public spaces in the country had been closed as a result.
Madrid’s Mayor, Jose Luis Martinez-Almedia said in April that allowing Atletico’s fans to travel to England for the match and allowing the game to continue was a “mistake.”
“It didn’t make any sense that 3,000 Atletico fans could travel to Anfield at that time. It was a mistake. Looking back with hindsight, of course, but I think even at that time there should have been more caution,” he said.
Atletico won the match 3-2 and progressed 4-2 on aggregate.
Suggestions have also been made that the match between Valencia and Atalanta was a major factor in the sharp spike in Italy and Spain’s coronavirus cases.
Spain currently has about 236,000 confirmed cases and 28,773 deaths.