Reds delay decision on World Club showpiece

Liverpool are still to decide whether they will compete in the World Club Championships in Japan in December, according to chief executive Rick Parry.

The Anfield side were automatically invited to the event in Tokyo after winning the Champions League last season but, having also been made to defend their European title from the first qualifying round, the club are concerned about the amount of fixtures they are playing.

Liverpool have been drawn to play either Deportivo Saprissa or FC Sydney in the semi-finals of the competition.

“The World Club Championship draw has been made,” Parry told the club’s website, www.liverpoolfc.tv.

“This is something we are debating very carefully at the moment. It is a world tournament that is prestigious but we have to balance that with the potential of losing another domestic fixture.

“We are already facing the disruption of two Premier League fixtures due to the Champions League third round qualifier and the Super Cup (against the UEFA Cup winners).

“All of this is down to the price of success and as we’ve discovered in the past, you tend not to get a lot of sympathy for being successful.”