Jurgen Klopp has admitted Liverpool will have to take any EFL sanctions on the chin if they are found to be guilty of fielding an ineligible player at MK Dons.
The club's ongoing participation in the Carabao Cup is under threat after Spanish midfielder Pedro Chirivella was fielded without the proper international clearance last Wednesday.
Chririvella replaced Naby Keita just after the hour mark as a young Reds team beat the League One outfit 2-0 at Stadium MK.
The EFL have launched a subsequent investigation into the matter, with the Reds hopeful that expulsion from the competition is a worst-case scenario.
Klopp said that the club deserve any punishment that comes their way if they are found to have played Chirivella without the necessary paperwork.
Klopp said: "I cannot say too much about it because other people are working on it.
"What I can say if it was our fault alone, then we have to be punished. It didn't happen on purpose but my only really concern is the player.
"He couldn't play for half a year in Spain (on loan at Extremadura) and if he can't play for us from now on that is the biggest problem.
"[If] we made a mistake, and I am not sure if we did, but if we did the player should not be punished."
On Saturday, Liverpool, who are scheduled to meet Arsenal at the fourth round stage of the tournament, released a statement confirming they were aware of the problem.
A comment sent to the ECHO read: "The club are aware of a potential administrative issue pertaining to one of our players.
"We are working with the relevant authorities in order to establish the facts of the matter and will be making no further comment until this process is complete."
Sunderland avoided being thrown out of the cup when they fielded an ineligible player in Ji Dong-Won back in 2014.
