Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp has accused Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta of influencing referee’s decisions after the Reds’ fall at the Emirates Stadium.
He specifically said the Spaniard pressured referee, Michael Oliver to issue unwarranted cards to Liverpool’s players during their 3-2 defeat to Arsenal.
Gabriel Martinelli (1) and Bukayo Saka were the scorers for Arsenal, while Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino pulled two for the visitors.
Klopp revealed he was unhappy with Arteta pressuring the referee into giving Joe Gomez a yellow card in the second half for time wasting.
“But Joe Gomez’s yellow card, a defender, a yellow card for this throw-in situation.
“In the first half, I don’t know how often and how long Arsenal was looking for an option in a throw-in yet nothing happened, and I’m fine with that.
“But Joey is there and Mikel is having a go at the ref and then he [Oliver] says, ‘okay, yellow card’ from a distance and you think, ‘yellow card, for that?’
“So again, nothing to do with the result, just these situations, they don’t help but you’re right, they’re useless conversations [with the referee]..”
Personal life
Klopp has been married twice. He was previously wedded to Sabine and they have a son, Marc (born 1988), who has played for a number of German clubs including FSV Frankfurt under-19s, KSV Klein-Karben, SV Darmstadt 98, Borussia Dortmund II and the Kreisliga side VfL Kemminghausen 1925. On 5 December 2005, Klopp married social worker and children’s writer Ulla Sandrock.
They met at a pub during an Oktoberfest celebration that same year. She has a son, Dennis, from a previous marriage. On 10 February 2021, Klopp confirmed that his mother, Elisabeth, had died; he was unable to attend her funeral in Germany due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.