Jurgen Klopp is facing lengthy ban following the Liverpool manager’s comments about referee Paul Tierney.
Klopp accused Tierney of having an agenda against Liverpool following the club’s 4-3 win over Tottenham on Sunday and claimed the official spoke to him in an inappropriate manner when showing the German a yellow card.
Klopp was given a yellow card after confronting fourth official John Brooks when celebrating Diogo Jota’s stoppage-time winner at Anfield. He later apologised for those actions.
According to the Times, Klopp’s poor disciplinary record is likely to lead to a significant ban and the FA are looking into his post-match comments ahead of a charge. Any comments that “imply bias and/or attack the integrity of the referee” are a breach of the governing body’s rule E3.
Speaking about Tierney to Sky Sports, Klopp said: “How they can give a foul on Mohamed Salah [before Spurs’ third goal].
“We have our history with [Paul] Tierney, I really don’t know what he has against us, he has said there is no problems but that cannot be true.
“How he looks at me, I don’t understand it. In England nobody has to clarify these situations, it’s really tricky and hard to understand.
"I really don't know what this man has with us?" 😠
Jurgen Klopp on referee Paul Tierney. pic.twitter.com/bbQ150RjMF
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 30, 2023
“My celebration was unnecessary, which is fair but what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not okay.”
Klopp’s interchange with Tierney will be used as evidence, with conversations of Premier League officials recorded on the microphones used to communicate with assistants and the VAR. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited has since come out in defence of Tierney and insists the recording proves the official acted in a “professional manner”.
Liverpool will await the verdict of the charge against Klopp and it is unlikely to be as high as a five-game touchline ban handed to Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011. However, the FA are under pressure to sanction Klopp in a demonstration of their protection of match officials.
