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Liverpool dealt huge Jurgen Klopp blow amid top-four race with Manchester United
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been handed a two-match touchline ban, after media comments he made about referee Paul Tierney last month.
One match of Klopp’s two-game ban is suspended until the end of next season, the Football Association said, and an independent regulatory commission also fined him £75,000.
The German spoke about Tierney after the Reds’ 4-3 victory against Tottenham at Anfield on April 30, saying: “We have our history with Mr Tierney. I don’t know what this man has with us.”
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Klopp admitted his comments constituted improper conduct as they implied bias, question the integrity of the referee, are personal, offensive, and bring the game into disrepute.
An FA statement read: “Jurgen Klopp has been suspended from the touchline for two matches and fined £75,000 following media comments that he made after Liverpool’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 30 April 2023.
“The first match of the manager’s touchline ban is effective immediately and the second is suspended until the end of the 2023/24 season on the condition that he does not commit any further breaches of FA Rule E3 in the meantime.
“(He) admitted that his comments regarding the match referee during post-match media interviews constitute improper conduct as they imply bias, question the integrity of the referee, are personal, offensive, and bring the game into disrepute.”
Klopp had just watched Liverpool snatch a stunning win over Spurs just minutes after allowing the visitors to complete a late comeback from 3-0 down.
In his post-match press conference, he said: “How they can give a foul on Mohamed Salah (just before Spurs’ third goal)? We have our history with 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. My celebration was unnecessary, which is fair, but what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not OK.”
It comes as the Anfield side are locked in a tightly-contested battle to finish in the Premier League’s top four and ensure Champions League qualification for next season.
Liverpool have Aston Villa at home and Southampton away left to play, with the Reds in fifth spot. They are one point behind fourth-placed Manchester United – who have three more league games, against Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham.
United can ensure they finish in at least fourth place in the league by winning two of their three remaining fixtures. With Liverpool hot on their heels, however, Klopp’s ban will come as a significant blow as they aim to overturn their points deficit.
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