Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt has slammed Liverpool on Twitter and called for the Premier League leaders to be heavily fined.

Holt posted a series of tweets on Monday morning after Jurgen Klopp revealed he will not use any first-team players in their FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury Town next week.

Klopp also said that he will not be involved in the fixture. Reserve coach Neil Critchley will take charge of the team instead.

Critchley was also in the dugout for Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat against Aston Villa in December while Klopp and the first team were competing for the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.

"I said to the boys already two weeks ago that we will have a winter break, which means we will not be there," Klopp said after his side’s surprise 2-2 draw against League One Shrewsbury on Sunday.

"You cannot deal with us like nobody cares about it. I know that it's not very popular but that's the way I see it.

"The Premier League asked us to respect the winter break. That's what we do. If the FA doesn't respect that, then we cannot change it. We will not be there."

He added: "We have to respect the players' welfare. They need a rest. They need a mental rest, a physical rest, and that's what the winter break is all about.

"We had to make these decisions beforehand because these boys have families."

For some football fans, Klopp’s decision to essentially boycott his side’s next FA Cup match is contributing towards killing a competition that has been struggling for a while now.

Holt is one of those people who is fuming with Klopp and Liverpool.

He tweeted: “This is a battle @FA must win or their flagship competition is totally undermined.

“This is a battle @EFL must win, or they should shut up shop.

“@LFC need censuring and fining heavily.

“It’s not their football.

“It’s ours.”

He continued: “This path we’re on, forever losing out to @premierleague greed has to stop.

“It might have to be government or supporters that have to fight for our game in the end.

“In the absence of strong @FA or @EFL there may be no other option.

“We have stadia sales, clubs suing each other, non payment of wages, clubs. going out of business after being kicked out....

“Just how much more evidence is needed for @FA and @EFL to see it’s gone too far?

“FOOTBALL IS IN DISTRESS.

“Act for our pyramid or leave.”

In fairness, it’s easy to understand both sides of the argument.

The FA Cup is the oldest cup competition in world football and deserves to be treated with more respect. Football League clubs need all the money they can get and replays against the Premier League’s big boys can be the difference between making a loss and breaking even at the end of the season.

But from Klopp’s perspective, his first-team stars will be in serious danger of burning out during the season’s most crucial period if they continue to play even more games.

The FA Cup isn’t as important as the Premier League and the Champions League to a giant club like Liverpool. That’s the sad fact of the matter.

And Klopp clearly feels he has no other option but to deploy the kids for the replay next week.