The Premier League is fighting for its reputation, because the image that the English League Association is currently giving is pretty bungled. The decision-making body around the powerful Premier League managing director Richard Masters has waited far too long to tighten measures to contain the coronavirus and to increase the pressure on the unvaccinated part of the professionals (around a quarter of all players). Now the number of corona infections among the players and employees of the clubs is increasing rapidly, which led to ten game cancellations in the previous week alone.
A wave of outrage is now sweeping through the country. Contract partners such as sponsors and TV stations are demanding their rights; clubs also feel disadvantaged. Fans complain that in some cases they found out about game cancellations much too late – namely when some of them were already on the away trips. The debates depress the self-image of English football, which, as is well known, sees itself as the ultimate. How good that it was all about pure sport on Sunday, because the top game between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool FC was on.
And on Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool’s German coach, the Premier League could once again rely on, because he delivers something that the league urgently needs: another topic than Corona.
Since Klopp started working as a coach in Liverpool six years ago, his club’s games have been considered the most attractive product – and Klopp and his team have once again lived up to this reputation. Liverpool, together with Tottenham, offered a performance in the varied 2-2 draw that drowned out all other discussions within the league. Four goals, three controversial scenes, a red card and two referee scolding.
Even at half-time, Klopp confronted the referee in the cabin aisle
Immediately after the final whistle, Klopp stormed up to referee Paul Tierney with a sarcastic laugh and gave a lecture in front of him, which could be verified via the camera microphones based on its volume. “I never have problems with referees – except with you,” rumbled Klopp and accused Tierney of “never” playing football himself. In the press conference, Klopp, who notoriously complains about the referee’s performance after losing games, went further into the full by complaining that he “had no idea” what “problem” the referee had with him.
From his perspective, Tottenham’s striker Harry Kane should have been sent off for his unhealthy (and only punished with the yellow card) foul on Andrew Robertson and Liverpool’s Diogo Jota should also have been awarded a penalty in the first half. Instead, Klopp received a warning in the margin for his verbose and gestural complaints.
Already at half-time, Klopp had confronted the referee with outspread arms in the cabin corridor. “Mister Tierney” told him, according to Klopp, that Jota “intentionally” stopped to be fouled. A player has to brake before the goal is closed because running and shooting at the same time is difficult to manage. Klopp was even more furious when the red card was not given to Kane, who would have broken Robertson’s leg if this leg hadn’t been in the air “by sheer coincidence” at the time of the kick.
Yellow or red? Harry Kane (right) straddles, Andrew Robertson flies in a high arc through the stadium.
(Photo: David Klein / Reuters)
Klopp also saw complicity in the video assistant Chris Kavanagh (“What did he do in this situation?”), Who, in contrast to the later suspension for Robertson (77th / after rudely boarding against Emerson), had not intervened. His coaching colleague Antonio Conte, who was also receptive to referee criticism, saw things differently. Conte found it was “not right” that Klopp criticized the decisions – and even classified the second Liverpool goal by Robertson (69th) as “unbelievably” irregular because of “clear handball”. Five minutes later, Tottenham was able to equalize the deficit through Heung-min Son (74th), but it was no longer enough to score the winning goal in the final phase despite the majority.
Klopp appeals to the Premier League: “We need help!”
With three wins and two draws, the Londoners placed in the chasing field remain undefeated in the league under Conte, who replaced the dismissed Nuno Espírito Santo there in early November. The Italian’s record is all the more impressive because Tottenham had not played a game for two weeks after various corona cases in the team and the news came on Monday that they had to be eliminated from the Conference League at the green table. The group game against Stade Rennes had to be canceled and a catch-up date could not be found until December 31st – and so Uefa scored the game 3-0 against Tottenham. For Liverpool, on the other hand, the loss of punk in the league means a three-point deficit on the consistently winning leaders Manchester City.
In addition to the game events, Klopp is likely to have spoiled the mood of his squad. Although, according to Klopp, every player and employee at the training ground is at least twice vaccinated and will receive a booster “as soon as possible”, four regular players have now been infected with the virus. In addition, Captain Jordan Henderson cures a flu-like infection. Because Liverpool are currently afraid of losing further ground on Meister City, Klopp tried to assert his influence on the island by appealing to the Premier League: “We need help!” What was meant was the rectification of the game calendar over the festive season, which provides for three games in seven days for Liverpool – and could put the already weakened team to the test. Recently, when Liverpool had eight competitive wins, Klopp seemed to be skeptical about a break in the game – now he sees the matter differently.
The Premier League met on Monday afternoon and discussed how to proceed with the clubs. Like the sports magazine The Athletic previously reported, it was the wish of the majority to continue playing as planned over the holidays – and only to postpone individual games in the event of acute corona outbreaks. Jürgen Klopp now has enough opportunities to get excited over Christmas too.