Liverpool´s chances of playing in next year´s Champions League were dealt another blow when UEFA said the competition would not be devalued by the absence of the defending champions.A fourth-place finish in the Premiership appears increasingly unlikely but the Reds have been holding out hope they could qualify for next year´s competition by winning it this term. However, UEFA communications director William Gaillard said it was not imperative to have the winners return to defend their title."It is something we have contemplated and we wouldn´t have a second thought about it," he told Radio 5 Live. "We don´t feel the competition would be damaged otherwise we would have put it in the rules for the holders to defend the trophy."
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