Fans who paid for Liverpool-TFC friendly should have expected skeleton lineups By Steven Sandor Posted on July 20, 2012 1 0 911 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Caveat emptor. If you bought a ticket for Saturday’s exhibition between Liverpool and Toronto FC, and are steamed because the once-English power will not be bringing its star power to the Rogers Centre, you only have yourself to blame. On Friday, TFC announced that a majority of Liverpool’s star players will be skipping Saturday’s friendly, which has already come under fire from supporters’ groups for adding more congestion to the MLS club’s already crowded July schedule. “Unfortunately due to FIFA regulations surrounding mandatory vacation dates post-international tournaments, Liverpool’s squad in Toronto will not feature internationals Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Martin Kelly, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll, Pepe Reina and Fabio Borini, who all took part in last month’s UEFA European Championship,” read a statement today from TFC. “England internationals Gerrard, Johnson, Kelly, Henderson, Downing, Carroll and Italian international Borini will join the LFC tour in the U.S. next week for the team’s games against AS Roma and Tottenham Hotspur.” Right now, there are probably more than a few of those TFC supporters who were dead-set against this friendly who are enjoying a chuckle or two. A little schadenfreude. Because now they’ll know that the fans who spent three digits to see Red Sox FC won’t see the likes of Gerrard and Carroll go for even a 20-minute stroll. But, again, fans who bought tickets for this game have no one to blame but themselves. They should have known that teams have to give players rest after big tournaments, and this date fell perilously close to the end f Euro 2012 When this game was announced, they surely understood that there was little chance that the internationals would be able to play — that there was no way that Liverpool would be able to field a squad befitting the title “World Football Challenge.” So if you are holding a ticket for tomorrow’s Liverpool-TFC match and are feeling like you’ve got stiffed, don’t blame Liverpool for taking the appearance fee. Don’t blame the promoter for selling you the ticket. Don’t blame MLSE, which didn’t organize the event. Don’t blame the Rogers Centre. The blame sits squarely on yourself. As these international summer friendlies continue, we see more and more hucksterism. And until fans stop playing the role of sucker, the European clubs will gladly continue to be P.T. Barnum.
