Should Cameroon make it to the final on Sunday, 5 February, then Matip would not be available until Liverpool host Tottenham in the Premier League on 11 February. The German-born player would therefore miss the FA Cup third-round replay against Plymouth followed by the league game against Swansea, the EFL Cup semi-final against Southampton plus league games against Chelsea and Hull. Liverpool had to withdraw Matip from their squad to face Manchester United on Sunday because they were unsure about his international clearance. He had missed the previous seven league games with an ankle injury.
World football's governing body said that it referred Liverpool to article five of its rules. It states that "a player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is, unless otherwise agreed, not entitled to play for his club during the period for which he has been released, plus an additional period of five days". Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said after the 1-1 draw with United that "Our understanding is Joel is retired from international football and we, the club, did everything we had to do to make this clear but until now we could not get the response we need to be 100 per cent sure that he can play. "It's pretty difficult and pretty frustrating, to be honest." Cameroon started their tournament with a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso on Saturday.
