January 18 – Liverpool expect to discover on Friday whether Joel Matip is eligible to play for them as confusion continues over the defender’s availability.
Liverpool withdrew Matip from their squad for last Sunday’s Premier League match at Manchester United, saying they needed clarity from FIFA over his eligibility.
Matip ostensibly retired from international football in September 2015 but Cameroon are digging their heels in after he snubbed them when named in their provisional 35-man squad for the African Cup of Nations. Matip, who has not played for Cameroon since 2015, was not included, however, in the final 23-man squad.
FIFA confirmed on Monday that it informed Liverpool of the regulations on the status and transfer of players, in particular article five, in the process cautioning Liverpool they could be sanctioned if they play Matip without Cameroon’s permission. Article five states that a player called up by his country for an international tournament is barred from representing his club during that period.
Matip could miss six to eight games for Liverpool if he is not made available until the end of the competition.
“I don’t want to blame anyone, but our supporters deserve to know about the process we are in,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “In this moment he is not in the squad for Cameroon, but we have no 100% guarantee that he could play for us. FIFA told us that on Friday they’ll decide if they’ll open a case about it or not.”
It is understood Matip never put his retirement in writing to the Cameroon FA but Klopp says Liverpool should not be punished for a technicality that occurred when the player was at Schalke.
“We were not involved in this process because it was before he was our player. When he came here for us, it was clear he didn’t want to play for Cameroon. He wasn’t picked for more than a year.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713460923labto1713460923ofdlr1713460923owedi1713460923sni@w1713460923ahsra1713460923w.wer1713460923dna1713460923