Luis Diaz’s goal being wrongfully dismissed by VAR isn’t the only thing that made Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp furious following the Reds’s loss at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Klopp was enraged with many of the refereeing decisions in his team’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham, particularly Diogo Jota’s dismissal which he claimed was another “unprecedented” error, according to the Mirror.
The major flashpoint of the match was Luis Diaz‘s disallowed goal due to a VAR mistake. But Jurgen Klopp argued that Jota’s controversial red card for two bookings in quick succession was equally baffling.
“Diogo Jota also got two yellow cards for not touching a player once. That’s unprecedented as well
Jota’s first caution for tripping Spurs’ left-back Iyenoma Udogie was harsh. Just a minute later, he received a second yellow for a lunge towards Udogie after losing the ball.
Liverpool had appealed Curtis Jones’ earlier red card but cannot contest a sending-off for two bookings. However, Klopp was adamant Jota barely made contact for either foul.
The German manager remains baffled by the decision, insisting he’s never witnessed such a dismissal in his long career of 22 years.
While the VAR gaffe has been football’s main talking point for the past five days, Klopp argues that Jota’s contentious expulsion was an equally staggering miscue.
Liverpool ultimately fell 2-1 to Tottenham and were down to nine men, intensifying Klopp’s frustration over the perceived injustices. He doubled down on demands for a replay due to the unprecedented nature of the errors.
On Monday, PGMOL released the audio of the conversation of the match officials, which ultimately failed to influence Klopp in retrospect.
“The audio didn’t change it at all because I was not really interested in why things happen. I saw the outcome, I saw a goal, and I saw it didn’t count.I’m 56 years old and I’m absolutely used to wrong decisions. But something like that as far as I can remember has never happened. That’s why it should be a replay.”
Klopp maintained the officials’ mistakes directly influenced the result and competitive integrity. With relations worsening, he insists only a replay can address these atrocious decisions.
But calls for a replay will almost certainly go unheeded, despite Klopp’s adamance. The fallout seems set to continue. It’s not like Klopp has ever been on good terms with referees before either, so we can continue to march on.
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