Jurgen Klopp has left Xherdan Shaqiri out of his travelling party for Belgrade.
The Kosovo-born forward would likely have received a hostile welcome in the Serbian capital had he travelled for Tuesday’s meeting with Red Star Belgrade.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 - a move that remains the subject of dispute. Shaqiri stoked controversy regarding his heritage during a World Cup meeting between his adopted country Switzerland and Serbia this summer.
The 27-year-old, who wore boots bearing a Kosovan flag, celebrated a goal scored in a 2-1 win with an ‘eagle’ gesture - a nod to the Albanian heritage of a large number of Kosovans.
Shaqiri recently insisted he would have no fears over heading to Belgrade with the Reds.
He said: “I had this already at the World Cup so I know I can handle this no problem.
“No concerns. I saw a few articles where one player said something. I don’t really care what people are saying. I just go there to play a football game. It is not about politics it is about football. I worry about nothing and go to play.”
Klopp’s decision not to include Shaqiri was not influenced by safety concerns, but instead the German is keen to avoid unnecessary tumult in the build-up to an important tie.
He said: “It’s a situation where we will go to the fantastic city of Belgrade as a football team to play football.
“We have heard and read the speculation and talk about what kind of reception Shaq would receive and although we have no idea what would happen, we want to go there and be focused 100 per cent on football and not have to think about anything else, that’s all."
Liverpool hold a narrow lead in Group C going into their trip to Red Star but are locked in a three-way battle for qualification with Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain.
