BERLIN: Liverpool have been barred from entering Germany for a Champions League match against RB Leipzig on February 16 because of strict entry rules imposed because of the pandemic, the German interior ministry said Friday. “German federal police informed RB Leipzig Friday that the described case does not meet the requirements for an exception” to the travel restrictions, the ministry said in a statement. UEFA’s regulations decree that Leipzig must find a way of hosting the last-16, first leg match or risk forfeiting it as a 3-0 defeat, but the planning for the match has been upended by Germany’s updated travel restrictions. RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said the club would find an alternative location for the match. “We are in talks and we are working on a solution. We will play somewhere,” he told media. The new German rules, slated to last until the day after the game, ban travellers from countries hit by new, more contagious, coronavirus variants such as Britain. Though there are some exceptions for medical workers and others in key professions, the interior ministry has repeatedly said that there are “no special provision for professional sportspeople”.