Jurgen Klopp charged for referee comments after West Ham game

Jurgen Klopp has been charged by the Football Association for comments he made about referee Kevin Friend after Liverpool’s Premier League match at West Ham last week.

Klopp intimated after the 1-1 draw on Monday, February 4, that Friend’s performance had been affected by an assistant referee’s mistake for Sadio Mane’s goal.

Mane’s opener stood despite Reds team-mate James Milner being clearly offside in the build-up.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Klopp said: “As a human being, if I know I have made a big mistake in the first half, I don’t want to open the gap any more.

“Referees are obviously human beings, and I understand that, but I didn’t during the game because I had no clue that our goal was offside.”

An FA statement read: “Jurgen Klopp has today been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3.

“It is alleged that comments he made in a post-match interview following Liverpool’s league game against West Ham United on February 4, 2019, breached Rule E3(1) as they questioned the integrity of the match referee and/or implied bias.

“He has until 6pm on February 18, 2019 to respond to the charge.”

Mane opened the scoring in the 22nd minute but Michail Antonio equalised for West Ham six minutes later.