Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool could be forced to withdraw from the Carabao Cup.
Wednesday’s entertaining fourth round win over Arsenal guaranteed the European champions’ place in the draw for the competition’s quarter-final stage.
But the Reds’ involvement is already causing a fixture headache due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup on the same week of the last eight ties.
Talks are ongoing with the Premier League and the EFL, who operate the Carabao Cup, about switching the Anfield club’s tie to the week of January 6.
It would mean Liverpool playing a round behind the rest of the competition, which will enter the first leg of its semi-finals on that same week.
But Klopp insists that his side will consider playing no further part in this season’s future rounds if it further complicates their already convoluted fixture list.
He said: “I am not concerned, somebody else has to be concerned because we didn’t make the fixtures, we didn’t make the schedule.
“FIFA said the Club World Cup would be there [Qatar] and we have to go there, so we do. The Premier League tells us we have to play the Premier League, which we do obviously.
“And [play] the Carabao Cup, which we did tonight, and if they don’t find an appropriate place for us, not 3am on Christmas Day, then we don’t play it.
“They have to make that. You have to think about these things.
“If you have a fixture list where one team cannot be part of all of the games, then you have to think about the fixture list.
“Hopefully it starts at one point, hopefully it starts now. I really think it is fair this problem is obvious now, but we will not be the victim of this problem.
“We played tonight, we wanted to win, we did that and if they don’t find a proper date for us, then we cannot play the next round, so whoever is our opponent will go through or Arsenal plays and I cannot change that.
“We ignore that problem completely for tonight. I think a lot of people from the Premier League were sitting in front of the television hoping Arsenal can do it but… sorry!”