Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed why he was booked by the referee during his side’s draw with Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Although the Merseyside giants battled back to claim a point, there will be a tense finish to the group stage for them as they will need a result against RB Salzburg to advance.
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However, on a contentious night at Anfield, Klopp was also booked by referee and revealed after the game what he did to earn the caution.
“I said [to the referee]: “Don’t do that,” he said, as quoted by the Mirror. “He stopped the game twice and made a big fuss. There was an opportunity for both teams to have a quick restart but twice he [intervened] and had things to say [to the players].
“So I said: “Why did you do that? Please don’t do that” and then I got it.”
It seems a pretty soft reason in truth although Klopp would probably be well advised to allow the officials to get on with their jobs rather than comment on their performance as it will always leave managers at risk of facing some sort of response.
While it was a pretty minor punishment in the end as he remained on the touchline and won’t face any ban moving forward, Klopp will hope that his side can get the job done at Salzburg next time out and keep their hopes of successfully defending their European crown alive.
Time will tell if things go their way, but this was undoubtedly a disappointing result for them as Napoli have got the better of the Premier League title contenders this year having beaten them in Italy in the first meeting and now claimed a draw away at Anfield.