LIVERPOOL could be investigated by the EFL over their raft of false positive Covid test results.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp revealed on Sunday that of last week’s positive cases, all but one were false readings.
Last Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal was postponed after the Merseysiders reported a “rapidly growing number” of coronavirus cases.
But some clubs have been left bemused by the situation and complained to the EFL, asking for clarity on when Liverpool realised the players did not actually have the virus.
And League bosses are under pressure to open a probe because a number of clubs have had postponement appeals rejected despite Covid outbreaks.
A statement from the EFL at the time of the postponement read: “Having now fully reviewed the circumstances involved, the league has accepted Liverpool’s request after determining, albeit reluctantly, that a postponement was the only option as the club looks to mitigate against the further risk of infection amongst its squad and staff alongside ensuring public health was protected by not travelling from Liverpool to London.”
Subsequently, The Athletic understands that Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only Liverpool player to have actually had the virus – the rest were false positives.
Klopp said: “We had last week a proper outbreak and it showed up that we had a lot of false positives but the rules are like they are so all these players who are false positives couldn’t play.
“The only real positive came from Trent Alexander-Arnold and all the rest were false positives.”
The Reds conducted a round of both lateral flow tests and PCR tests – both of which returned a number of positive cases.
But a third round of testing then saw most of those players test negative.
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False positives using lateral flow tests are extremely rare as the NHS estimates they have a 99.97 per cent specificity.
The order of the semi-final legs have now been switched around so Liverpool will host Arsenal at Anfield on Thursday before the return leg at the Emirates on January 20.
Liverpool are looking to win the League Cup for the first time since 2012, while Arsenal have not lifted the trophy since 1993.
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