Jurgen Klopp reignited feud with referee Paul Tierney after Liverpool’s 4-3 win vs Tottenham; German angrily celebrated Diogo Jota’s winner in front of fourth official; Klopp said what Tierney said while giving him yellow card was “not okay”; PGMOL sees no reason to discipline the referee
Jurgen Klopp reignited his feud with referee Paul Tierney, saying “I don’t know what this man has against us” after Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Tottenham – but refereeing body the PGMOL has dismissed allegations of wrongdoing against the official.
When Diogo Jota broke through and scored to make a pulsating game 4-3 on 94 minutes, Klopp ran straight up to fourth official John Brooks in anger, pulling his hamstring in the process.
Klopp revealed after the game that the anger was due to Tierney giving a soft foul against Mohamed Salah on Ben Davies in the build-up to Spurs’ equaliser for 3-3.
Klopp and Tierney have a long-held feud which dates back to December 2021, when the Liverpool boss told the referee – coincidentally after a match against Tottenham – that he “has no problem with any referees, except you”.
“How can they give a foul by Mohamed Salah [before Spurs’ third goal]?” Klopp told when asked to explain his anger at the fourth official.
“We have our history with [Paul] Tierney, I really don’t know what this man has against us, he has said there is no problems but that cannot be true.
“How he looks at me, I don’t understand it. But again? He was reffing against Tottenham [in 2021] where Harry Kane should have got a red card. And I love this player, crazy player and I don’t want him to get a red card, but he should.
“And it’s Mr Tierney. It’s really tricky and hard to understand.”
Klopp also claimed what Tierney had said to him when showing him a yellow card – which he did not give any specific information on – was “not okay”.
Klopp said: “My celebration towards the fourth official, I didn’t say any bad words or nothing unnecessary, which is fair. I got my punishment by pulling my hamstring. But what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not okay.”
However, the PGMOL says it has assessed the case using Tierney’s recorded audio from the match and sees no reason to discipline the referee for what he said.
A statement read: “PGMOL is aware of the comments made by Jurgen Klopp after his side’s fixture with Tottenham Hotspur.
“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.”
The FA will be looking into Klopp’s post-match comments regarding Tierney.
Revisit Klopp’s row with Tierney in December 2021
Klopp’s previous altercation with Tierney came after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham in 2021, where Kane avoided a red card while Andy Robertson was later sent off for violent conduct.
The Liverpool manager felt Kane should have been dismissed and criticised Tierney’s lack of “objectivity”.
At the full-time whistle, Klopp went up to Tierney and that was where he said the referee was the one official he has an issue with.
“I really have no idea what his [Tierney] problem is with me,” he told after that game. “Honestly, I have no idea.
“You just need an objective ref who sees the situations and trust them. He told me that he thinks he [Jota] stops on purpose. That’s incredible.
“He had the best spot on the pitch, he was eight yards away and doesn’t give it. We have to ask him, what’s his problem.”
Klopp: We got away with dramatic win
A dramatic game this Sunday at Anfield saw Liverpool lead 3-0 after just 15 minutes – but Tottenham staged a phenomenal comeback, which included Richarlison’s 93rd-minute equaliser.
Jota’s equaliser came just seconds after Richarlison had scored and Klopp admitted his team “got away with” the win.
“For a long period of the first half it was the best game we had played so far,” said Klopp. “The first half was good, we conceded a goal but it was the first time we didn’t defend properly.
“The problem is Tottenham do not change at all, they go for counter-attacks even at 3-1 down. They just defend, counter-attack and get set-pieces and that makes it tricky.
“We got away with it thanks to Diogo Jota, it makes it spectacular and everybody goes home buzzing, but I am the manager of the team so I have to mention everything else as well. In three days’ time [against Fulham] we have to do better.”