JURGEN KLOPP was at the centre of another controversy on Sunday as he was booked for lambasting referee Paul Tierney.
Liverpool boss Klopp then raged ‘what’s his problem with me’ but he is no stranger to high-profile bust-ups.
PAUL TIERNEY
Klopp lost his cool as a number of key decisions went against Liverpool during the 2-2 draw away at Tottenham.
After Harry Kane escaped a red card for a wild lunge on Andy Robertson and Diogo Jota’s penalty appeals were waved away, the German went ballistic on the touchlines.
Ref Tierney showed him a yellow card with Klopp then sarcastically bowing – and avoiding an immediate second yellow.
Robertson was later sent off for a swipe on Emerson Royal and Klopp confronted Tierney at full-time.
He told the official: “I don’t have a problem with referees, only you.
“Anyone who has played football knows you can’t stop there to win a penalty.”
And after the match the Liverpool boss said to Sky Sports: “It is always helpful when you play football yourself. When you see the situation back (Jota’s penalty appeal), the VAR is there. Why is he stopping? I don’t understand.
“The draw is fine. We are not crazy enough to think we cannot draw at Tottenham but these situations are crucial.
“I have no idea what his [referee Paul Tierney] problem is with me.
“I was a bit more emotional in the game but he gives me a yellow card but it is not allowed in a situation like this? He comes over and gives me a yellow card but I’d have preferred the right decisions on the pitch.
“But just an objective ref who sees the situations and judges them. He told me he thinks he stops on purpose. It is incredible. He had the best spot on the pitch and doesn’t give it. You will have to ask him what his problem is with me.”
DIEGO SIMEONE
Atletico lost a dramatic Champions League encounter to the Reds, who picked up a late 3-2 win at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in October 2021, and Simeone stormed down the tunnel after the full-time whistle.
Klopp stood furiously outside the tunnel, seemingly bemused by Simeone’s decision to ignore his handshake. Two HUGE VAR calls went against the Argentine’s side as Liverpool took the three points.
But Simeone insisted the snub was nothing personal as he “never shakes hands after a match”.
The 51-year-old added next time he sees Klopp he will definitely extend his hand.
Simeone said: “I never shake hands after a match, because I don’t like it.
“It isn’t healthy for either the one who wins or the one who loses. That’s the way I see it. But now when I see [Klopp] I will shake his hand without problem.”
DES KELLY
Klopp and BT Sport reporter Des Kelly have developed a comical rivalry in recent seasons.
One of their first clashes came in November 2020 after Klopp blasted Kelly’s employers BT Sport for scheduling his team to play on Saturday lunch time after a Champions League game midweek.
Klopp labelled it criminal but Kelly hit back and suggested Klopp was “aiming at the wrong target” and said “having a go at the broadcaster isn’t going to change anything”.
A similar situation occurred earlier this month when Klopp’s team played Watford at 12.30pm after an international break.
And rounding on Kelly again, the German said: “Who had the idea to bring us at 12.30pm? Was it Watford?
“If [BT Sport] wouldn’t have said it we would’ve had to reply. Ah yeah thank you for your help, really, thank you, thank you very much.”
SADIO MANE
There have been a few incidents involving the stern-faced Senegalese.
The forward famously threw a strop at the end of a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in 2017.
Mane’s tantrum came after coming on just one minute before injury-time — and he let his boss know exactly how he felt before storming down the tunnel.
And there was more of the same from the former Southampton man earlier this year when he refused to shake hands with Klopp at the end of a 4-2 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Klopp later explained it was because he dropped Mane in place of Diogo Jota shortly before the game with little explanation.
But studio pundits Roy Keane and Graeme Souness took exemption to the Senegal international’s display and called it ‘disrespectful’.
SEAN DYCHE
Klopp and Sean Dyche angrily clashed in the Anfield tunnel as tempers boiled over at half time between Liverpool and Burnley in January.
The Reds chief was quizzed about the incident after the defeat and replied: “If he’s not talking about it, I will not talk about it. But I didn’t start it.”
It was not the first time the pair had crossed swords having gone head-to-head after a game in December 2018.
Dyche whispered something to Klopp making him visibly confused after the match.
But the Clarets boss insisted he only told Klopp “well done” after Liverpool nicked a stoppage time win.
And their most recent encounter came in August when Klopp called Burnley’s players wrestlers and Dyche hit back by criticising the German for ‘name-checking’ members of his team.
"If he's not talking about it, I will not talk about it."
Jurgen Klopp wasn't giving anything away from his half-time confrontation with Sean Dyche, but revealed that he 'didn't start it'.
pic.twitter.com/B0E7xkpBD9
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 21, 2021
FRANK LAMPARD
In one of Klopp’s more feisty encounters, he was reportedly told to ‘f*** off and sit down’ by then-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
The ex-England midfielder lost his cool with Klopp and his assistant Pep Lijnders after the referee awarded the Reds a free-kick which led to their second goal in a 5-3 thriller last July.
Klopp fired back by saying the former midfielder ‘has a lot to learn’.
Lampard has since admitted he regretted the bust-up and confirmed there was no bad blood between the pair.
But he did call the German a ‘hypocrite’ just two months later after the Liverpool boss criticised Chelsea’s spending.
ARSENE WENGER
Klopp slated Arsene Wenger for not getting the best out of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017.
The Liverpool boss said he found it ‘unbelievable’ the Ox’s attacking talents were not used to the full by the Gunners’ chief.
That had come after Wenger said Klopp and his fellow Prem managers had been ‘disappointing on all levels’ the year before.
And needle between the pair emerged again in 2020 when Liverpool blew the chance to match Wenger’s Arsenal in going unbeaten in the Premier League.
Rather than sympathise with the Reds, Wenger said he was ‘very satisfied’ to see them lose 3-0 to Watford.
JOSE MOURINHO
Where to start with these two?
A famous early clash occurred in January 2017 when the two squared up to each other on the touchline in a 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Mourinho’s Manchester United.
Fans then suggested Klopp had got Mourinho the sack for the third time in December 2018.
Their rivalry continued after Mourinho took charge at Tottenham as the Portuguese took aim at Klopp’s touchline ‘behaviour’ after Spurs lost at Anfield in December 2020.
He said: “The best team lost and [Klopp] disagreed but that’s his opinion.
“By the way, if I behave on the touchline like he does then I’m not there.
“Come on, that’s animated. Do you want to take the table with the time from the fourth official? I’m saying for some reason I’m different and I’m sad.”
