Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will NOT face an FA investigation into his comments that Manchester City privately branded ‘borderline xenophobic’ ahead their Anfield clash… with the German to find out his punishment for his red card next week
- Jurgen Klopp will not face an FA probe for the comments he made last weekend
- Mohamed Salah’s goal helped Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 last Sunday
- Klopp was accused of making ‘borderline xenophobic’ remarks before the match
- The Liverpool manager has categorically denied all accusations of xenophobia
- Some at Man City felt the comments had inflamed tensions ahead of the clash
- Klopp was sent off during the match, and will find out his punishment next week
Jurgen Klopp will not face a Football Association investigation over comments some at Manchester City had privately branded ‘borderline xenophobic’, the PA news agency understands.
He will face punishment from the FA after being shown a red card for remonstrating with assistant referee Gary Beswick, but will not know the severity until next week.
The Liverpool boss found himself under the spotlight following remarks he made during a press conference ahead of last Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the reigning Premier League champions.
Jurgen Klopp will not face an FA probe for the comments he made ahead of the Man City clash
Klopp has categorically denied any accusations of xenophobia, with the FA appearing to agree that his views were limited to an assessment of the financial differences between top clubs rather than discriminatory.
When asked about City’s spending power, Klopp had said: ‘There are three clubs (the Gulf state-owned City, Newcastle and Paris St Germain) in world football who can do what they want financially. It’s legal and everything, fine, but they can do what they want.’
City were understood to have felt Klopp’s words inflamed tensions ahead of Sunday’s meeting at Anfield, during which City boss Pep Guardiola claimed to have coins thrown at him, while visiting fans sang offensive songs about the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters.
It is understood Merseyside Police also received a complaint of alleged criminal damage to City’s team coach on Sunday night.
Manchester City privately branded his comments about their owners ‘borderline xenophobic’
Mohamed Salah scored the only goal as Liverpool narrowly beat Manchester City last weekend
Klopp opposed any suggestion that his comments should be interpreted as xenophobic.
He said: ‘I don’t feel, in this specific case, I don’t feel it at all. I know myself.
‘And you cannot hit with something which is miles away from my personality.
‘If I was – I cannot remember the word – like this I would hate it. I would hate myself for being like this.
The Liverpool head coach flatly denied all accusations of xenophobia and said: ‘I know myself’
‘I have said a lot of times things that were a little bit open for misunderstanding. I know that.
‘It was not intentional, just sometimes you say things and you think ‘Oh my God! It can be interpreted like this!’ but this is not one of these moments. Absolutely.’
As for Klopp’s punishment for being sent off, he may be fined and handed a one match touchline ban, or could face a harsher punishment.
