The European Club Association (ECA) have written to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), making clear that teams could refuse to release African players for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
Liverpool are set to lose Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane from early January to the start of February for the tournament in Cameroon, but recent reports have suggested that an 'indefinite postponement' of AFCON may be announced imminently.
Concerns regarding the new omicron coronavirus variant has seemingly put the competition at risk of being delayed.
And the ECA are particularly worried about 'player's wellbeing' as cases continue to rise worldwide.
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Liverpool left the ECA when the plot to establish a European Super League was revealed last April - but returned to the fold a few months after that when the project was abandoned.
A letter from the ECA to CAF, seemingly dated 10th December, read: "With the January 2022 window and AFCON fast approaching, all stakeholders are again unfortunately having to deal with an aggravation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent implementation of new restrictions by various governmental authorities.
"As you know, the pandemic and its associated implications raise three fundamental concerns for clubs when it comes to the release of players to national teams: first and foremost, the clubs' duty to ensure each and every player's wellbeing is properly protected; second, that clubs are not forced to be without players for club competition matches; third, that all players resume their activities with their clubs following national duty in a timely fashion, as per the applicable rules."
The letter went on to provide more details around those three "fundamental and legitimate concerns", before adding: "Against this background, please note that, at its meeting of 2 December 2021, the ECA Executive Board unanimously re-confirmed its position that the three principles referred to above must be strictly respected and, should this not be the case, that players not be released for national team duty.
"At present, these three principles are at risk of not being respected in connection with the upcoming January releases."
The ECA have been lobbying for change or postponement since early November, though CAF reportedly remain adamant that AFCON will go ahead as planned.
Addressing the situation at the start of this month following a board meeting, the ECA said: "The Board expressed its deep concerns around player safety and welfare ahead of the African Cup Nations and upcoming international windows in early 2022, particularly in light of the worsening public health situation and the severe challenges faced during recent international windows.
"The Board agreed to engage urgently with FIFA to ensure all necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests as the health situation continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner."
