Jurgen Klopp was incredulous after Liverpool didn’t receive a penalty vs Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. It wasn’t the incident that confused him – it was the referee.
Liverpool drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. It was an incredibly frustrating game and one that was difficult to understand.
That’s because certain decisions were pretty bizarre. There was the Andy Robertson red card, for instance. The Scot walked for a wild challenge on Emerson Royal, which was probably fair enough. Harry Kane, however, remained on the pitch for a potential leg-breaker in the first-half.
That inconsistency was infuriating and dominated Spurs vs Liverpool, unfortunately. Red cards weren’t the only debatable incidents, however.
Diogo Jota probably should have received a first-half penalty. Emerson clattered into him around the six-yard box just as the Liverpool striker was about to shoot. He got nowhere near the ball simply stopped a shot on goal.
Jurgen Klopp wasn’t happy that Liverpool didn’t get a penalty – and it’s easy to understand why.
Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool penalty incident
“[We want] Just an objective ref, who sees the situations and judges them,” he told Sky Sports after the game. “And not opinions.
“He told me he thinks [Jota] stops on purpose. That’s incredible! He had the best spot on the pitch – eight yards away – and doesn’t give it.”
Klopp has a point. He said earlier in the interview that Jota simply had to stop in order to get a shot off. It’s also unclear why the Liverpool man would give up a shooting chance from a few yards away just for a penalty.
It just seems like a bizarre spot of refereeing in a game rife with it. It was a foul on Jota and deciding the player stopped on purpose – when there was a clear reason for him to do that – it just strange.
Couple it with the red card incidents and it’s no wonder that Klopp is incredulous.
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