Jürgen Klopp will not be able to coach Liverpool from the sidelines in their crucial game against Aston Villa on Saturday after the Football Association of England (FA) handed him a two-match ban for his criticism of Paul Tierney.
Klopp had said he “[doesn’t] know what this man has against us” following Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Tottenham at Anfield on April 30, following a game in which he was booked for celebrating a last-minute winner in front of fourth official John Brooks FA has given the Liverpool boss a two match sideline ban and a £75,000 fine, the second of those matches being suspended until the end of next season, subject to Klopp’s behaviour.
“The first match of the manager’s touchline ban takes effect immediately and the second is suspended until the end of the 2023/24 season, provided he commits no further violations of FA Rule E3 in the meantime,” the statement said. statement from the FA. . “Jürgen Klopp admitted that his comments about the match referee during media interviews after the match constituted inappropriate behavior as they imply bias, question the referee’s integrity, are personal and offensive and bring the game into disrepute.”
Klopp’s absence from the touchline – he will be able to enter the Anfield dressing room and accompany his team to the stadium, but will not be able to coach them from the pitch – could not come at a more inopportune time as Liverpool look to secure a place in the top flight four that almost certainly require them to win both of their remaining matches. The toughest of those will certainly be at home with Villa, who are vying for their own European berth. Unai Emery’s side have won nine of their last 13 Premier League games, drawing two and losing two; Liverpool have exactly the same points back in that period.
Klopp acknowledged he had been wrong in questioning Tierney’s opinion of Liverpool in the days following the dramatic win over Spurs, recounting what Tierney had said to him when the referee booked him for excess: “He said: ‘For me it is it’s a red card, but because of him it’s yellow’, and he shows me a yellow and smiles in my face, that’s it.”
Klopp added: “It wasn’t cool, but I just celebrated [the fourth official’s] direction… I just didn’t think it was that bad, but we all know things that don’t look so bad in your own mind [are] sometimes different from what the outside world sees. If things look bad, I’ll definitely consider getting in touch.”
