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Liverpool news: Philippe Coutinho blasted over Champions League medal rule
LIVERPOOL legend Phil Thompson has blasted the prospect of Philippe Coutinho winning a Champions League medal if the Reds reach the final.
Keane: Time will tell if selling Coutinho was good for Liverpool
Liverpool are in the semi-finals of the competition after overcoming Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate.
Coutinho left Anfield in January for Barcelona in a club-record £146m deal.
But in the first half of the season, the Brazilian played a prominent role in Liverpool’s Champions League campaign.
Coutinho played five times for Liverpool in Champions League group stages and scored five goals for the Reds, including a hat-trick as they beat Spartak Moscow 7-0.
Because of his participation in Europe for Liverpool, Coutinho was ineligible to play for Barcelona in the knock-out stages.
Philippe Coutinho left Liverpool for Barcelona in January
I’d like to think if there’s anything about Coutinho, if they do go on to win it, he says ‘no, I don’t deserve that’
But should Liverpool go on to reach the final in Kiev, Coutinho would be eligible for a winners or runners-up medal having been part of the team.
UEFA regulations state: “The winning team is presented with forty gold medals and the runner-up with forty silver medals.
“Additional medals may not be produced.”
However, Thompson has reacted furiously to the possibility of Coutinho receiving a medal.
"He left Liverpool to go to Barcelona knowing he wasn’t going to play Champions League football," Thompson told Sky Sports.
Philippe Coutinho scored a hat-trick for Liverpool in the Champions League
“I got a medal in 1977 for Liverpool because I played up until the semi-finals.
“I don’t count that as a winners medal. I have that in my house in a cabinet but I say wherever I go I’ve only two European Cup winners medals.
“I’d like to think if there’s anything about Coutinho, if they do go on to win it, he says ‘no, I don’t deserve that’.
“And he wouldn’t be. I don’t care, it’s wrong.”
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