Why was Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp fined $34,000?
The Reds manager will have to dig deep after being hit with a fine by the FA for his conduct during Liverpool’s recent game against City.
Jürgen Klopp ended up in hot water with the English FA for his touchline outburst during Liverpool’s 1-0 home win over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday 16 October.
Visibly angry, the Reds’ manager confronted line official Gary Beswick towards the end of the match and appeared to be ranting at him about a possible foul by Bernardo Silva on goal scorer Mohamed Salah which was waved away by the ref. Klopp was issued a red card for his aggressive intimidation of the match official and was later seen talking to referee Anthony Taylor, presumably discussing the incident.
Speaking afterwards, Klopp explained, “I think I should have dealt differently with the situation. I do, usually. I explained after the game, in this moment, you could not bring me in this mood. No chance. But the whole game led to that maybe a little bit. The way it went, it was a very, very intense game with a lot of decisions which both managers didn’t understand on both sides. For me it was like, I don’t know, in Germany we say, ‘the one drop that made the bucket overflow.’ I’m not happy with my reaction but that’s the way it was and everybody saw it. I was sitting after the game in the office of Anthony Taylor and spoke, completely calmly, about all the situations. How I saw the game, how he saw the game. It was a completely calm discussion. That’s the situation. I got a red card and now we wait for the process”.
Improper conduct
The FA decided on Thursday to serve the Liverpool manager a £30,000 ($34,000) fine for “improper conduct” - actions which are considered threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting or liable to bring the game into disrepute.
A statement from the organising body read: “Jürgen Klopp has been fined £30,000 for breaching FA Rule E3 during Liverpool FC’s Premier League match against Manchester City FC on Sunday 16 October 2022. The manager accepted that his behaviour during the 86th minute was improper, and an independent Regulatory Commission imposed his sanction during a hearing. This sanction is subject to appeal by either Jürgen Klopp or The FA following receipt of the independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons.”
It is not the first time that Klopp has been punished by the FA - in February 2021, he was charged after breaching competition rules by questioning referee Kevin Friend’s decision-making in the 1-1 draw with West Ham and implying that the match official was biased. He later accepted a £45,000 fine.
Klopp now faces another fine but can feel relieved that at least he escaped a touchline ban which means he will be able to take his place in the dug-out for Saturday’s league game against Leeds.