FA Charges Klopp over Referee Remarks
Liverpool coach, Jurgen Klopp, has been charged by the Football Association (FA) for comments that he made about referee Kevin Friend after the Reds’ 1-1 draw at West Ham on 4 February.
After the match concluded, Klopp implied that Friend’s decision-making in the second half was affected by the assistant referee’s mistake for Sadio Mane’s opening goal, which stood despite team-mate James Milner being clearly offside in the build-up.
In a post-match interview, a frustrated Klopp said: “Referees are obviously human beings, and I understand that, but I didn’t during the game because I had no clue that our goal was offside.”
He added: “Apparently our goal was offside, and maybe [Friend] knew that in the second half.”
In a statement released on Wednesday, 13 February, FA confirmed that Klopp has been charged for questioning the “integrity” of Friend.
The Liverpool coach has until the evening of 18 February 2019 to respond to the charge. If found guilty, he could be banned from the touchline during the club’s clash with Manchester United on Sunday, 24 February.
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