Liverpool Echo journalist Paul Gorst has staunchly defended Jurgen Klopp in the wake of the Reds manager facing criticism over a TV interview after the FA Cup defeat on Sunday.
The 56-year-old was wrongly accused by some social media users of critiquing a reporter’s weight after he said that they were ‘not in a great shape’, in response to a question as to whether his team lacked intensity during extra time at Old Trafford.
FOLLOW Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE
The recipient of Klopp’s irritation has publicly clarified that the Liverpool boss didn’t insult his physique, and Gorst has also stood up for the German following the post-match storm.
In a tweet sharing a Liverpool Echo article which outlined that the 56-year-old would’ve been required to conduct numerous post-game interviews, the Merseyside reporter posted: “The pearl clutching over Jurgen Klopp walking off from one of about 10 post-match interviews yesterday has been laughable. ‘Elite manager unhappy after defeat’. It’s only a story if he isn’t.”
The pearl clutching over Jurgen Klopp walking off from one of about 10 post-match interviews yesterday has been laughable.
'Elite manager unhappy after defeat'.
It's only a story if he isn't. In defence of the #LFC manager…https://t.co/O4HB0Fqacl
— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) March 18, 2024
READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk speaks the truth with Instagram post after Liverpool’s FA Cup exit
Gorst is speaking from a position of many years’ experience of interviewing Klopp before and after matches, so when he’s openly stating that instances of the Liverpool manager being curt towards the media are firmly in the minority, we can take it as reality.
There are occasional instances where the German crosses the line in reacting angrily to reporters, but it’s become commonplace for fans of rival clubs to castigate him for any show of emotion during and after games, as if no other manager in world football has a temper.
As the journalist also rightly points out, it would’ve been a far worse look if the 56-year-old gave the impression that he wasn’t bothered by a stoppage time (after extra time) defeat to his club’s biggest rivals. Was anyone expecting him to be all-singing and all-dancing so soon after the final whistle?
The true Klopp was seen in how he cheerfully interacted with the Manchester United mascots prior to kick-off, and in how he’s given so much of his time to Liverpool fans who’ve endured difficulty in their personal lives.
We’re sure that doesn’t fit the haters’ agenda, but we’re far more inclined to take it from someone like Gorst who knows the Reds boss better than most.