Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has firmly rejected claims that his comments on the financial strengths and mark manoeuvrability of Gulf state-owned clubs such as Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Newcastle United were xenophobic in nature.
Last week’s battle Liverpool and Manchester City was emotionally charged and it even got the better of Klopp, who was sent off by the referee after a strong outburst in the final minutes of the game at Anfield. There was also a significant acrimonious fallout from his team’s 1-0 win by an anonymous briefing linked to City.
Klopp’s pre-match comments about Liverpool not being able to compete with three other clubs who can ‘do what they want’ financially was also accused of igniting tensions during the game where City manager Pep Guardiola had coins thrown at him while the visiting fans scrawled graffiti and chanted in relation to the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters, and the Spaniard was damaged after it left Anfield.
Klopp’s comments, highlighting City, PSG, and Newcastle – who are owned by owners from UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia respectively – was also alleged anonymously to be borderline xenophobic.
The German, an advocate of inclusivity throughout his career at the top level in football, obviously rubbished such claims.
“I don’t feel, in this specific case, I don’t feel it at all. I know myself. And you cannot hit me with something which is miles away from my personality. If I was – I cannot remember the word [xenophobic] – like this I would hate it. I would hate myself for being like this.
I have said a lot of times things that were a little bit open for misunderstanding, I know that. It was not intentionally; just sometimes you say things and you think: ‘Oh my God, it can be interpreted like this!’ But this is not one of these moments.”
he said.
