Benitez rejects Champions League play-off idea

Posted Wednesday, February 17, 2010 by PA

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has ridiculed the idea of a play-off for the final Champions League place, claiming clubs "will be playing until the end of the century".

Reports this week claimed the Barclays Premier League were looking into the prospect of having the sides from fourth to seventh face each other post-season to decide the remaining spot for Europe's elite club competition.

"I have to agree with (Everton manager) David Moyes," said the Liverpool boss. "He said what would it mean for a team like Tottenham if they finish fourth and, after a fantastic season, have to play a team who finishes seventh maybe 20 points behind just to keep the competition alive?"

Benitez added: "To play three, maybe four fixtures, when you don't have time with international football - when will you play, how can you play these games and what does it mean for the team that finishes fourth?"

Benitez added: "Maybe we can do the same with the teams at the bottom of the table. If you finish fourth maybe you could play with the team who finished third from the bottom.

"Then during the whole season we can play 50 games and we don't have to rest so that will be fantastic.

"We can be in the office analysing the fixtures and creating different schedules and different things and the players will be injured.

"If we continue playing games we will end up playing three games a week - which is fantastic for the television companies.

"We are playing too much now. They were talking about the 39th game being played in Asia so if we now play the play-offs we will be playing until the end of the century."