Brendan Rodgers says he is disappointed with the four game ban given to Lazar Markovic for his red card against FC Basel in December.
The Serbian winger was given an additional game ban having been sent off in European competition for Benfica last season.
But given the nature of the incident, Rodgers has described the ban as ‘very harsh’ but says the Reds have little choice but to accept the decision.
“We are obviously disappointed with the length of the ban,” said Rodgers.
“We felt it was very harsh but we accept it and unfortunately he won’t be able to contribute. Hopefully he will play many more European games for the club.”
Rodgers also dismissed talk of fixture congestion ahead of the Reds return to Europa League action tomorrow night against Besiktas.
“I’m not really thinking about that,” the boss said.
“I said at the beginning of the season one of the objectives was to win a trophy so you will see from the efforts we have put into the cup competition. This is a prestigious trophy and one we want to do well in. It’s a tough game as you saw in their recent games against Tottenham and Arsenal. We are obviously very confident in terms of our performance.
“Over a number of games the players have been fantastic.”
