Keith Hackett has expressed his discontent at the punishment handed to Jurgen Klopp following comments made by the German tactician about referee Paul Tierney after Liverpool’s 4-3 defeat of Spurs at Anfield last month.
The Reds manager has been handed a two-game touchline ban and ordered to pay £75,000 following his actions but that is still not enough of a punishment according to the former Premier League referee.
The 78-year-old has claimed that English referees have been ‘let down’ by the FA’s decision and the ‘opportunity to make an example of Klopp’ has been passed up.
“This weak ruling fails to send out the message to grassroots football that questioning the integrity of the referee and confronting the fourth official in the manner he did is unacceptable in the game,” Hackett wrote in the Telegraph (via This Is Anfield).
“We are all aware that behaviour in elite football cascades down to grassroots and makes the task of officiating at that level difficult.
“[They] have let down all English referees up and down the country by passing up on the opportunity to make an example of Klopp’s continuous unacceptable behaviour.”
We’re not really sure what more Hackett wants the FA to do.
We understand that managers cannot confront officials and cross the line with their comments following the game but it’s not the first time that Tierney has made some questionable decisions while officiating a match involving us.
He failed to send off Harry Kane for a reckless tackle on Andy Robertson in December 2021 and also failed to award us a blatant penalty during the same game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The FA ban means the former Borussia Dortmund boss will not be in the dugout for tomorrow’s clash with Aston Villa at Anfield but he will return to the touchline on the final day of the season at St. Mary’s with the second game of his ban suspended until next season.
Klopp did write a letter of apology to Tierney and his officials and that may have therefore reduced his punishment.
Emotions are part of the game and the Liverpool boss is certainly one of the more animated managers in the dugout – he wears his heart on his sleeve and that’s one of the main reasons why he’s adored by all Kopites.
He was a shit ref so ld take no bloody notice of what he spouts!!!
Fed up listening to this dross. Another diabolical refereeing performance today at Anfield. No accountability. But don’t dare talk about it or expect correct decision-making or raise issues about why the refereeing and VAR are so poor. Wise up Hackett. The standard of refereeing in the Premier League overall isn’t good.