The sight of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pulling his hamstring as he tore down the touchline to berate the fourth official at Anfield, comedic as it may have been for many, has a serious undertone and not a particularly pleasant one either.
We all know it’s a man’s game where no quarter is asked or given from either side, but that doesn’t entitle those managers under the severest pressure to persistently lock horns with officials, either during the match or afterwards.
Of course, the men in the middle and their paymasters, PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited), need to be accountable for their decisions and their own actions, but without fear of what’s verging on assault or at least threatening behaviour.
If the fourth official were just a man in the street and someone had come up to him in the manner that Klopp did on Sunday, he would’ve had every reason to defend himself and/or make an official complaint for abusive behaviour.
The technical areas are there for a reason but we consistently see managers and their staff overstepping the boundaries.
If we’re talking about being role models for the younger generations, what does it say to the kids when they watch such behaviour? Faces contorted in rage with the level of anger self-evident.
It’s nothing but bullying, and if the Premier League and FA are serious about stamping this sort of thing out, then maybe a period sat up in the Anfield stands will see Klopp learn the error of his ways.
I would rather my son had klopp as a role model than the snowflakes commenting on him.