Alan Shearer believes Jurgen Klopp was fortunate to escape a red card for shouting in the face of fourth official John Brooks during the dramatic finale to Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
The Liverpool boss sprinted over to confront Brooks after Jota scored a dramatic 94th-minute winner before limping back to his technical area having pulled his hamstring.
Referee Paul Tierney then only booked the Liverpool boss, who’d been incensed by the decision to award Tottenham a free-kick in the lead-up to Richarlison’s goal to make it 3-3 just a few minutes earlier.
Shearer, speaking on Match of the Day, said Klopp is a serial offender for touchline antics and referenced an earlier incident when Diogo Jota escaped a red card for kicking Oliver Skipp in the head.
‘He could easily have sent Jota off and should have sent him off, which he [Klopp] wasn’t too quick to mention,’ Shearer said.
Jurgen Klopp was ‘lucky’ not to be sent off for running up to fourth official John Brooks after Liverpool’s dramatic late winner against Tottenham, according to Alan Shearer
Jurgen Klopp appeared to pull his hamstring whilst celebrating Liverpool’s winning goal having sprinted down the touchline to Brooks
Klopp was booked by referee Paul Tierney for his action but some believed the Liverpool manager was lucky not to be sent off
Speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer said Klopp should have been shown a red card
‘He was lucky, with the way he went up to the fourth official. We know it’s an emotional game, it’s a bonkers game at times and emotions were running high.
‘But it’s not the first time he’s done that on the touchline so he is lucky that he just got a yellow card.’
In television interviews after the match, Klopp claimed Tierney said something ‘unacceptable’ to him while brandishing the yellow card.
‘What he [Tierney] said to me when he gave me the yellow card… That’s not possible. But it’s not OK as well,’ Klopp said on Sky Sports.
But the referees’ governing body PGMOL accused Klopp of lying in a statement released late on Sunday night.
‘PGMOL is aware of the comments made by Jurgen Klopp after his side’s fixture with Tottenham Hotspur,’ it read.
‘Match officials in the Premier League are recorded in all games via a communications system and having fully reviewed the audio of referee Paul Tierney from today’s fixture, we can confirm he acted in a professional manner throughout, including when issuing the caution to the Liverpool manager so, therefore, we strongly refute any suggestion that Tierney’s actions were improper.’
Klopp added: ‘We’ve had our story, history with Mr Tierney. I really don’t know what this man has with us. He will always say there’s nothing but it’s not true.
Tierney shows Klopp the yellow card for his touchline dash as Brooks watches on
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp launched an astonishing attack on referee Paul Tierney
It came after Diogo Jota secured the win for the Reds deep into injury-time against Tottenham
‘It cannot be, I don’t understand that. It cannot be. I’m really not sure if it’s me, how he looks at me. I don’t understand it.
‘I really have no problem with any people, not with him as well. But I say again. He was reffing at Tottenham when Harry Kane didn’t get a red card. And Harry Kane, I love this player, what a player, crazy, I don’t want him to get a red card – but it was a red card in that game.
‘And it was Mr Tierney and nobody asked him about it because they don’t have to clarify situations. So it’s really tricky and it’s difficult to understand and my celebration towards the fourth official I didn’t say any bad words.
‘It was unnecessary and I got punished for that immediately. I pulled my hamstring or adductor or whatever so fine. That’s fair.’
The hosts had raced into a three-goal lead inside the first 15 minutes thanks to goals from Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Spurs then fought back with strikes from Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Richarlison, the Brazilian’s leveller coming in the 93rd minute. But just 99 seconds later, Diogo Jota found the net to make it 4-3 to the Reds.
Shearer suggested Diogo Jota was fortunate not to be sent off for his boot to the head of Tottenham’s Oliver Skipp
Skipp was left bloodied after the dangerous challenge, which didn’t lead to a red card
That goal sparked Klopp’s over-the-top celebration – and after the game, Sky pundits had their say on the contentious incident.
Graeme Souness said: ‘Look we can’t sit here and condone it. He’ll wish right now he didn’t do it. I’ve been there and the emotion and when things are going against you, sometimes you react in a very strange way. But he’s suggesting he has an ongoing situation with the referee which can’t be helpful.
Roy Keane added: ‘He’s angry because there was a foul on Mo Salah. There was a clear foul, it was given the other way. That was the start of the frustration. But you can’t do actions like that, what he did. I don’t think he’ll do it again after pulling his hamstring. It didn’t look good.
Before Jamie Redknapp continued: ‘Not for a couple of weeks anyway, he’ll not be moving too well. By the time he gets there the game will be kicking off. But no I can’t condone that.
‘Grass roots, everything we’re trying to do, it (that behaviour) filters down to young kids. It filters down to coaches. If you start running in people’s faces like that it’s not right. He knows that. But you can’t do that. It’s not on.’
Before Souness concluded: ‘It’s a build-up of frustration isn’t it. As I’ve said I’ve been in that situation, you look back on it and you’ll be embarrassed by it and I think he will be.’
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