Credit: Twitter
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s behavior is again under the microscope after the German coach's reaction towards the fourth official John Brooks following the Reds' late winner against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Klopp also accused Sunday’s official Paul Tierney of having an agenda and might face a second ban of the season as the audio of their conversation cleared the referee.
In Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Tottenham over the weekend, Jurgen Klopp was not happy about some of the decisions given by the referee. After Diogo Jota’s late winner, Jurgen Klopp sprinted and celebrated in the face of John Brooks injuring his hamstring in the process. Following the celebration, referee Paul Tierney booked the German, who claimed that the referee 'said something unacceptable' but refused to specify what the referee said.
Watch Klopp's reaction after Liverpool's late winner against the Spurs:
Refereeing body PGMOL quickly responded to Klopp’s accusation, and said that Tierney acted in a 'professional manner throughout'. Daily Mail has reported that the audio of the conversation, termed as 'smoking gun', fully exonerates the referee and it will be sent to the FA for further investigation. The association is still waiting for the referee's report after which this will probably be a disciplinary case and the audio will be made public.
Former Chelsea player and now pundit Chris Sutton believed that the German manager should be banned and this kind of behavior should not be encouraged. Sutton said, "For the way he acted on the touchline, he should be banned from the technical area, I don't think a fine is enough. He's got previous." He referred to his previous misconduct and Martin Cassidy, chief executive of Ref Support UK, agreed with Sutton.
This is the second time Jurgen Klopp has been in trouble after accusing the referees of bias, he has faced a one-match ban after he berated assistant referee Gary Beswick during Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City in October, as well as being fined £30,000. The coach has a history of complaining after a game and even after repeated warnings from the FA, Klopp has continued to be outspoken after games.
Back to football, Liverpool won a hard-fought game against Tottenham 4-3 courtesy of a late winner from Diogo Jota in the 94th minute. Liverpool dominated the first half and were 3-1 up going into the second but goals from Heung Min Son and a late equalizer from Richarlison brought them back into the game. The Reds will face Fulham on Wednesday night.