It is extremely rare that an optical professional can influence a football match. But one optician in Liverpool who supplies eyewear to the Liverpool football team has played a role in the club’s last-gasp winner over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Batty and Dexter Opticians has always had an association with Liverpool FC and – following the eye injury to star striker Roberto Fermino, pictured – it was asked to provide sports glasses to help Firmino train the day of the Champions League match. He went on to score the winning goal in a stoppage time thriller.
Karl Spinks, managing director of Batty and Dexter, has had a direct relationship with Liverpool FC for the past five years, supplying eyewear to its players, eye tests at the training ground and being the first port of call for players needing contact lenses.
A massive Liverpool fan, he says ‘the team doctor called in the morning of the PSG game and said the wind was affecting the player’s eye and preventing him from seeing properly. I provided the glasses and he trained with them that same morning.’