Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's confrontation with UEFA escalated on Friday after he dubbed the Nations League as "one of the most ridiculous ideas in the world of football".
It was the second time in as many weeks that Klopp has blasted UEFA for its actions.
Last week, the German manager confessed to being furious at the organisation for providing only 20,000 tickets for club fans for the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, scheduled to be held in Paris on 28 May. But now it is the Nations League fuelling his anger.
"The reason I am not in such a good mood when I speak about UEFA is because of the Nations League," the manager said in a press conference on the eve of his side's FA Cup final against Chelsea. The iconic Liverpool coach is vehemently opposed to the tournament because he alleges it adds more pressure on what many pundits already claim to be a crammed footballing calendar.
"I still think it is one of the most ridiculous ideas in the world of football because now we finish a season where [some] players have played more than 70 games, easily - club games 63 or 64, plus internationals - and then go direct to 75, which is pretty mad," he explained.
In order to bloc the holding of the tournament, the Stuttgart-born coach even suggested increasing UEFA's share of the revenue from the Champions League to nudge the administrative body into scrapping the Nations League, telling journalists that he "would prefer UEFA take more money from the Champions League final and kick out the Nations League again. That would be my preferred solution and more tickets for the people anyway.”
The Nations League is an international football tournament held every two years featuring national teams from Europe's major countries, including France, England, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Germany.