Klopp rejects xenophobic tag

The Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has strongly rejected accusations from Manchester City that he is xenophobic, arguing that his comments about their financial power were misconstrued.

Klopp, 55, defended himself against the allegations made by City officials in the aftermath of Liverpool’s 1-0 Premier League win at Anfield on Sunday.

Before the fixture, Klopp had praised City as the best team in the world and claimed they were one of three clubs who “can do what they want financially” thanks to the backing of their Abu Dhabi owners. Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain, also owned by Gulf states, were the other clubs to which he referred.

City waited 48 hours before saying those quotes amounted to “borderline xenophobia,” a claim that Klopp rebuffed.

Klopp, who has been charged with improper conduct by the FA after receiving a red card in the game, said of the accusation: “In this specific case I don’t feel it at all. I know myself. And you cannot hit [me] with something which is miles away from my personality.

“I have said a lot of things that were a bit open for misunderstanding. It was not intentional — just sometimes you say things and you think, ‘Oh my God, it can be interpreted like this!’ But this is not one of these moments.

“If someone misunderstands that, or wants to misunderstand that, I cannot change that.”

Liverpool have taken legal advice on Klopp’s behalf regarding the publications that carried the accusations.

Klopp’s denial came after Eddie Howe, the Newcastle manager, weighed into the debate and said the notion that his club could spend at will was flawed.

“Everyone has to be careful with their comments and opinions,” Howe said. “We’re not living that life that is being discussed. We are living a very different reality.

“Our wage bill is very controlled. Although we have spent money on players, it has not been extravagant or out of sync with the rest of the Premier League.”

Moyes suspects that Klopp’s outburst was an attempt to inject passion into the crowd and his players, rather than him losing his temper

Moyes suspects that Klopp’s outburst was an attempt to inject passion into the crowd and his players, rather than him losing his temper

Liverpool host West Ham United on Wednesday with Klopp ready to take his place on the touchline despite his dismissal for confronting Gary Beswick over the assistant referee’s failure to raise his flag for a foul by Bernardo Silva on Mohamed Salah in the 86th minute.

Klopp has until Friday to respond to the FA charge, which is being treated as “non-standard”. The punishment will be decided by an independent disciplinary commission but it is likely that the German, who apologised to Beswick for going “bonkers”, will receive a touchline ban and a fine.

David Moyes, the West Ham manager, believes that Klopp’s touchline outburst may have been orchestrated to inject more passion into his players and the home fans.

“He is a huge personality and a huge character; he might have had to take a sending off to get his team a result because he was showing everyone how much it meant,” Moyes said.

“Klopp was fighting for his team to get a result at the weekend and I’m sure he will probably do it again in the future as well. But I think, if we stood there and did nothing, I think our supporters, the public, the media, would probably be questioning why. I think if you look at the incident he got angry about, he was correct, wasn’t he?”

As a result of his dismissal, Klopp has been charged by the FA and has until Friday to respond, meaning that he will be allowed on to the touchline for the visit of West Ham.