Liverpool defender Joel Matip was fit to be part of the squad that faced Manchester United but couldn’t be part of the side as there was no clarity about his international future. The 25-year-old defender was added into the list of the squad for the African Cup of Nations by Cameroon even though Matip had stated that he didn’t want to play the tournament.
While the defender was injured during the past few weeks, there was no question of him playing but now that he is fit, Jurgen Klopp wants to use the former Schalke man. The Reds pulled him out of the last squad as even the world body FIFA could not give a response about Matip being free to play for the club.
Regulations state that an international team could ask a player to be suspended from the club during the duration of the tournament. Liverpool do not want to fall foul of that as the club and the player would be facing sanctions, which could include suspensions, fines and points deductions.
And now according to the reports from Daily Mirror, Klopp is willing to risk the Cameroon defender in the FA Cup third round replay against Plymouth. The Reds were held to a 0-0 draw at Anfield but will be looking to make it into the next round against the lower league club.
The Reds also believe they are not wrong regarding Matip as the defender had stated more than a year ago that he was retiring from international football. Liverpool believes that any player who has not played for his national side does not fall foul of the rules and thus want to play Matip as soon as possible.
Klopp will be trying once more to get a FIFA ruling but many of the Premier League clubs will be looking at this decision. FIFA, for their part, didn’t help the Merseyside club out the first time and just reverted with their set of regulations, which was not much of a help.
Klavan stepping up during Matip’s absence
While Liverpool will be hoping that Matip comes back into the side quickly, credit must be given to Ragnar Klavan for stepping up. The former Augsburg defender has been solid as a rock in the past few games and was again at his best against Manchester United.
Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip is the best defensive pairing for the Liverpool team at the moment but Klavan has shown that he can do the business against the tough sides in the Premier League and hopefully, he will still get to see a lot of playing time once Matip returns to the side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRLNUZCbUDc
