Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury Town left in 'limbo' over Liverpool replay date

Shrewsbury Town have been left in 'limbo' and 'frustrated' as they continue to wait for the date of their Liverpool replay to be confirmed.

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Town fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the world and European champions at Montgomery Waters Meadow on Sunday, but appear to have been left at the heart of a wrangle between the Premier League, Football Association and broadcasters BBC and BT Sport over what day the game should take place next week.

And Shrewsbury chief executive Brian Caldwell says there is nothing more Salop can do until a date has been confirmed.

"It's very frustrating, if I'm being honest – our game hasn't been confirmed as yet with the kick-off time and the day," Caldwell told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"We've been in discussions with Liverpool and the FA over the last 48 hours or so since we got the draw on Sunday night and it's quite a complicated one basically caused by the FA saying to the Premier League teams they will give them Tuesday nights where possible.

"But obviously BT Sport and BBC both have a live game, so that's caused some issues and there's been a lot of discussions going on between the broadcasters, the FA and obviously the clubs to try and get to a final decision and where we go with it.

"I know it was put out last night as potentially 7.45pm on the Tuesday, but that is not confirmed as yet.

"We are sitting a bit in limbo – we've got our ticketing ready to go as soon as we can get the tickets, but obviously we can't get any tickets until we know the date and the kick-off time so that Liverpool can print the 8,000-plus tickets for the Anfield Road end for our fans.

'Frustrating'

"We've got somebody on standby ready to go to Liverpool as soon as a decision is made, collect the tickets and obviously we'll put them on sale as soon as we can."

Shrewsbury continue to push for a resolution, with there now being less than a week until a possible Tuesday night date.

Caldwell added: "We are losing hours and minutes every day, which is frustrating because we now only have six days to sell 8,000 tickets.

"Obviously there is so much demand and we are getting phone calls all the time, but there's nothing really we can do as a football club until we get a decision from the FA and the broadcasters."

Prices for the replay have been set at £15 for adults and £5 for young adults (ages 17-21) with kids needing to pay just £1. Over-65s will pay £11.50.

However, Caldwell revealed the prices were higher until Jurgen Klopp revealed he would be sending the under-23s – including manager Neil Critchley – out for the clash.

"They had a price and plan in place last week, but I think probably based on Jurgen Klopp's comments after the game about what kind of team potentially might turn out, they decided to come back to us and reduce the price," added the chief executive. "We came to a compromise over that – we're just delighted we are still in the fourth round.

"Obviously, the guys put a great display on Sunday and we've now got an opportunity to go to Liverpool for what will be a great occasion for the football club and the fans."