Former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren admits he BROKE strict coronavirus protocols

Dejan Lovren has revealed he broke the Premier League’s strict coronavirus rules and snuck out of Liverpool’s Premier League title party to go to Anfield and celebrate with thousands of fans.

The Reds clinched the club’s first league title in 30 years on June 25 when Manchester City were beaten at Chelsea, sparking wild scenes at the club’s private party at the Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa.

Jurgen Klopp and his players stayed at the secure venue to celebrate well into the early hours away from fans in a bid to minimise the risk of spreading coronavirus. 

Around 5,000 Liverpool supporters gathered outside Anfield when the title was confirmed

It came despite repeated warnings about celebrating in public because of the coronavirus

But around 5,000 supporters gathered outside Anfield when the title was confirmed while others flooded to Pier Head in the city centre in the following days, despite repeated warnings over the spread of coronavirus to celebrate the team’s success. 

Premier League players were kept inside a bio-secure bubble to ensure the campaign could be finished against the backdrop of the pandemic that swept across the world and has so far killed just over 40,000 in the UK.

But Lovren, who recently completed an £11million move to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg, has admitted he snuck out of the hotel around midnight to go and join the fans around Anfield.

‘I did something that I don’t know if anybody knows about,’ Lovren told Sport 24.

‘After the game, a lot of all the fans went to the stadium, it was a big party. They told us: “Guys don’t even go to the stadium because you will have problems, we can’t keep you safe”.

‘I said to myself, the party was almost over, “I don’t want to go to sleep, it’s too early, at midnight” and I said to myself, “I will take the car and go to Anfield, just to experience this”.

‘I drove myself there, I have a video, I put the mask on and I went there. My god, tens of thousands of people celebrating and I just wanted to feel this emotion because we didn’t have a good celebration in the stadium — it was empty.

‘I needed to do it and I was really happy that I did it. It was a good experience.’

Lovren (R) pictured at the club’s title party as the players partied into the early hours together

Lovren recently completed an £11million move to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg

Liverpool have reportedly had a positive coronavirus test at their pre-season training camp

Asked if anybody saw him, Lovren added: ‘Maybe three people because I put my mask down to see my phone. In this second like four of them saw me but it was really good. 

Jurgen Klopp’s side are back in training ahead of the new season but suffered a scare on Tuesday when reports emerged in Austria that a member of their travelling party had tested positive for coronavirus. 

The Reds are preparing to defend their Premier League title in Saalfelden in Salzburg after abandoning their initial plans to hold a pre-season camp in Evian following the addition of France to the Government’s Covid-19 quarantine list.  

Liverpool are staying and training at the Gut Brandlhof hotel as they build up their fitness ahead of the Community Shield on August 29 – just 10 days away.

Despite the positive test, they will continue to train for the rest of the week before playing some warm-up matches ahead of facing Arsenal at Wembley. 

Lovren, meanwhile, has picked up where he left off in Russia, helping Zenit to the Russian Super Cup with a 2-1 victory over Lokomotiv Moscow.