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Shrewsbury Town chief executive Brian Caldwell has launched an astonishing attack on Jurgen Klopp and EPL giants Liverpool.
The League One side gained a creditable draw against Liverpool in their FA Cup Fourth Round fixture. After the match, the EPL side's German manager Klopp announced that he and senior-team players would not be taking part in the replay at Anfield. U-23 coach Neil Critchley took charge instead.
"LFC broke FA Cup rules," says Caldwell accusing the EPL side
Caldwell stated that Klopp had ruined the momentous occasion by his words and actions.
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"Immediately following the match, the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp ruined what should have been a wonderful moment for our Club by making public statements that he and all of his first-team would not attend the replay at Anfield, effectively ruining what should have been not just financially but for the players and fans a wonderful achievement and a very special occasion. "
Caldwell also said that he believed that Klopp's comments had negative effects on the match being televised.
"We struggled to believe that his statements had no effect on the replay being televised and we are convinced that LFC broke the FA Cup rules by not ‘fielding their strongest team’ in the return fixture."
He further went to state that this had led to his club not getting the financial gains they had expected from the replay.
"This had a knock-on effect of STFC not getting anywhere near the financial rewards that were to be expected from an FA Cup Fourth Round replay including a potential live TV fee against the World and European Champions and Premier League Champions (elect)."
He confirmed that Shrewsbury Town had registered a complaint against the EPL team in February which had been dismissed last week.
"In February we put a complaint in to the FA about the alleged rule breach but unfortunately and quite unexpectedly we were informed that this was dismissed last week (four months on).
He continued;
"This without doubt resulted in a much lesser occasion for our players and fans as well as the financial reward that would have been expected from LFC playing their strongest team and abiding by the FA Cup rules."
Caldwell's words are not likely to affect Klopp or the EPL team. They are on their way to winning the Premier League, as they are 25 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City. This will be Liverpool's first title triumph since 1990, and their first-ever Premier League title.
However, Liverpool, the defending champions of the Champions League, were knocked out of Europe's premier club football competition by Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile in the FA Cup, after progressing against Shrewsbury Town after winning 1-0 at Anfield, the EPL giants were knocked out by Chelsea.
