Liverpool plea to push back start time of Watford match is rejected
Liverpool were refused a request to move their next game at Watford to an evening kick-off to give them a chance of fielding Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino.
The Anfield club asked last month for the Oct 16 Premier League match to be switched from 12.30pm to 7.45pm when Brazil were scheduled to play a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay barely 24 hours earlier.
The change in kick-off time would have given the trio a chance of being involved against Watford – especially if one or more of them did not start against Uruguay – and a private jet had been arranged to fly them home from Manaus.
However, Watford argued that the date and kick-off time of the game, which will be live on BT Sport, had been announced in July and to alter it at a few weeks’ notice could inconvenience supporters’ travel plans.
Liverpool declined to comment, but Telegraph Sport has been told they were upset at the snub, given that the date and kick-off (1.30am UK time) of the Brazil-uruguay game had been confirmed only last month. They were also said to believe that the potential absence of their own and other clubs’ South American players from the next
round of Premier League games would devalue the competition.
A host of teams could be affected by what is a triple-header of World Cup qualifiers in the coming days, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Leeds United and Aston Villa.
The international fixtures were controversially approved by Fifa after matches were postponed earlier this year due to coronavirus.
A legal challenge against the decision by Spain’s La Liga was rejected in August by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In last month’s World Cup qualifiers, Premier League clubs refused to release their South American players as part of an agreement to block them and others travelling for fixtures in countries on the UK’S coronavirus red list.
That almost led to Fifa punishing the clubs involved by banning them from fielding the affected players for five days. A deal was struck last week to avoid a repeat, with the Government lifting a ban on fully vaccinated players training and playing for 10 days upon their return to Britain – albeit forcing them to quarantine.
Talks were continuing yesterday about avoiding another stand-off over the release of those not doublejabbed.