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Juergen Klopp threatens to pull Liverpool out of League Cup

Juergen Klopp has warned that Liverpool could pull out of the League Cup, if the English Football League do not help with their hectic fixture schedule.

Klopp's side moved into the quarter-finals after a 5-5 draw against Arsenal and 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory at Anfield yesterday morning (Singapore time).

Liverpool trailed 3-1, 4-2 and then 5-4 in the final seconds before Divock Origi's equaliser forced a shoot-out that was won by local-born teen Curtis Jones.

However, the Reds might not face Aston Villa in the last eight unless Klopp's fears over a fixture pile-up are soothed.

Match dates for the quarter-finals are scheduled for the week starting Dec 16, when Liverpool will be in Qatar for the Fifa Club World Cup.

Klopp said if a suitable alternative - the most likely being the week commencing Jan 6, the scheduled date for the first leg of the semi-final - is not found, then they would refuse to play.

He said: "Fifa told us the Club World Cup will be there (Qatar) and we have to come there and we will do (that).

"The Premier League tells us we have to play in the Premier League, which we do obviously.

"The (League) Cup, if they don't find an appropriate place for us - not 3am on Christmas Day - then we don't play it.

"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...

"If they don't find a proper date for us, 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, I'm sorry!" - AFP

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