Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has discussed Jurgen Klopp’s actions following Liverpool’s draw at Brighton on Saturday.
The Reds boss was left frustrated after his side were held to a draw by Graham Potter’s Seagulls after the hosts were awarded a late penalty that was converted by Pascal Gross (via Metro).
The penalty was awarded after Andrew Robertson fouled Danny Welbeck late on and Klopp was clearly frustrated based on the interview he gave to BT Sport’s Des Kelly shortly after the final whistle (via Sky Sports).
Halsey, a former official who took charge of 280 games in the English top-flight before retiring did, however, take issue with the German sarcastically applauding the assistant referee.
Speaking exclusively to This is Futbol, here is what he had to say:
“He’s a fantastic man for what he’s achieved in football and I think he’s got a responsibility to all the children, all the youngsters in the game, that are playing the game and watching the game today with his behaviour.
“He’s got to set an example in that dugout to everybody around the world, everybody that watches them games around the world, and no more than the youngsters of today.
“Now, Jurgen doing that, youngsters will think they can go out on a Sunday morning or Saturday morning and do that to the referee if they feel aggrieved with a decision.
“So, I just think it was very disrespectful. I think he should have been dealt with. I thought the officials were weak on the day.”
Was Jurgen Klopp out of order?
Yes
No
It’s clear from the above that whilst Halsey has plenty of respect for the 53-year-old as a manager, he felt the sarcastic applause was unnecessary and not the right example to set for those watching on.
Klopp has been very vocal in recent weeks about the fixture schedule his side are having to cope with and it seems, in our view, that his frustrations boiled over given the nature of Brighton’s late equaliser and the current injury crisis – that became even clearer in his post-match interview.
Having said that, in our opinion, Halsey was not wrong to label his actions as disrespectful.