Following Liverpool’s dominant 6-1 victory over Sparta Prague, Jürgen Klopp publicly expressed regret for his recent outburst during the match.
Despite the team’s impressive performance, Klopp exhibited a moment of anger when Jarell Quansah was shown a controversial yellow card in the second half, contributing to Liverpool’s overall 11-2 aggregate win.
In his post-match comments, Klopp admitted to engaging in a discussion with referee Artur Dias about the incident.
He clarified that his frustration wasn’t directed at the yellow cards themselves but rather stemmed from other factors, which he deliberated upon.
The triumph, secured through goals from Darwin Núñez, Bobby Clark, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and a brace from Cody Gakpo, propelled Liverpool into the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Despite the victory on the field, Klopp’s apology shed light on his commitment to professionalism and accountability, emphasizing the importance of managing emotions in high-pressure situations.
Klopp on why he was angry with the referee in his post match interview.
“Actually the thing is we wanted to change and the fourth official was showing it but the ref let the game go on and then we get the yellow card (for Quansah),” he shared. “The yellow card wasn’t the problem, I was afraid Conor Bradley could get injured in that situation and that’s what clicked a little bit in my mind.”
“I told the ref after the game the yellow card was fine. I was calm before and calm after, just in that little moment I lost it a little bit. Sorry.”
Klopp not only showed regret for his actions but also showed empathy towards Sparta Prague and their traveling supporters, who experienced defeat against Liverpool. In closing, he conveyed his best wishes to them in their pursuit of the Czech title.
“Yeah, there is a quality difference. It was before the game clear,” he said. “It is always like this, if the team with the higher quality shows the right attitude it will be tricky.
“I worked for a smaller club in Germany with Mainz and you can win games (against bigger teams) but you really need help from the opponents and we didn’t need help. We showed a top, top attitude and it was difficult for Sparta.
“It is now a tough week for Sparta, but the supporters enjoyed the trip at least and how they behaved in the home game was great. Now the rest of the season starts and they can fight for the title.”
