German coach Jurgen Klopp has decided to keep a Liverpool star away from the Serbian squad for the Champions League in Belgrade for fear of his safety.
The club decided not to call the Swiss-born Swiss star, Sheridan Shakiri, on the team's trip to face the Red Star in Belgrade, to avoid the discontent of the Serbian fans that may hurt the player.
Shakiri had provoked the Serbian crowd at the Russian World Cup, when he celebrated the "double-headed eagle" movement, the emblem of Albania, after scoring a decisive goal against Serbia.
This slogan is a "pariah" of many Serbs, because of the bloody history between Albania and Serbia in the 1990s.
The newspapers confirmed that the German club decided not to take Shakiri to face the red star, in the fourth round of the Champions League on Tuesday night, to preserve the life of the player.
It was expected that the Serbian fans will receive a great offensive player, may be attacking the young star, especially as the fans of the red star is one of the most "fierce" in Europe.
"We have heard and read about the expectations of the quality of the reception that Shakeri will receive," he said.
"We have no idea what will happen, but we want to go there and focus 100 percent on football and not think about anything else."
