Jurgen Klopp issues apology after 'losing it a little bit' in Liverpool win

15 March 2024 , 10:22

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Jurgen Klopp argues with the referee in the Europa League (Image: Dave Howarth - CameraSport)

Jurgen Klopp has issued an apology following an angry incident with referee Artur Dias in Liverpool's win over Sparta Prague.

The Reds boss was unable to contain his frustration as he unleashed an outburst in the official's direction on Thursday evening. It had been a comfortable night for Liverpool who were 4-0 up after just 14 minutes of play at Anfield after already leading the tie 5-1 on aggregate.

Klopp's side ultimately prevailed 11-2 against their Czech opponents but that did not mean the German coach got through the night without a serious dose of frustration. The Liverpool boss earned a second-half yellow card after a fiery exchange with Dias as he lost control after Jarrell Quansah was cautioned in contentious fashion.

However, the 56-year-old revealed following the match that his reaction was actually in relation to being denied the opportunity to complete a substitution. Klopp was wary that Conor Bradley could get injured and add to Liverpool's list of knocks.

"Actually the thing is we wanted to change and the fourth official was showing it but the ref let the game go on and then we get the yellow card (for Quansah)," he said. "The yellow card wasn't the problem, I was afraid Conor Bradley could get injured in that situation and that's what clicked a little bit in my mind."

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Klopp added: "I told the ref after the game the yellow card was fine. I was calm before and calm after, just in that little moment I lost it a little bit. Sorry."

While it was a comfortable night in terms of results, Klopp was unable to rest easy in managing the fitness of his players. The former Borussia Dortmund coach even had to tell Mo Salah to stop defending to avoid all risk.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool ran out 11-2 winners on aggregate

He explained: "I'm not sure what happened to Kostas, I'm sure that he will be fine though. For Bobby like I said he felt something, but it was intense for the boy, he was running around like crazy. Let's hope that's nothing.

"Besides that the subs for Joe [Gomez] was a precaution, Wataru [Endo] was a precaution, David was a precaution. And Mo already recovered in the second half so all good.

"Mo is a very experienced player, I told him if he has to stay on then he may have to play the full game. He did and it was the first time I told someone to stop defending. He actually then nearly made another goal but Cody was offside. He's very experienced so he got easily over the line."

Scott Trotter