Klopp: Liverpool could pull out of League Cup over fixture clash
Jurgen Klopp has suggested Liverpool will withdraw from the League Cup if a suitable replacement date can't be found for their impending quarterfinal fixture, according to Andy Hunter of the Guardian.
Liverpool advanced to the last eight of the competition with a shootout win over Arsenal on Wednesday in a manic match that was knotted at five apiece after normal time.
The quarterfinals of the tournament are slated for the week commencing on Dec. 16, which is when the reigning Champions League winners are due to be in Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup.
"I'm not concerned, somebody else has to be concerned because we didn't make the fixture list, we didn't make the schedule," Klopp said after the enthralling contest at Anfield, according to Hunter.
"FIFA told us the Club World Cup will be there (Qatar) and we have to go there and we will do. The Premier League tells us we have to play in the Premier League, which we do obviously," he added. "The Carabao Cup, what we did tonight, if they don't find an appropriate place for us, not 3 a.m. on Christmas Day, then we don't play it."
Liverpool are staring at a jam-packed December schedule, with a combination of domestic and Champions League matches on the docket. Their Club World Cup campaign is scheduled to begin Dec. 18, and a potential final would take place three days later.
"They have to make that decision. You have to think about these things," Klopp said of the English Football League, which is now facing a scheduling headache. "If you have a fixture list where one team cannot be part of all the games, then you have to think about the fixture list. Hopefully it starts now. We will not be the victim of this problem."
He added: "We play tonight, we wanted to win it, we did that, and if they don't find a proper date, then we cannot play the next round and whoever is our opponent will go through. Or Arsenal play them.
"A lot of people from the Premier League were sitting in front of the television hoping that Arsenal can do it. But - sorry!"