Jurgen Klopp joked he has an ‘expensive face’ after being fined by the Football Association for his furious outburst at matchday referees.
The Reds manager was sent off for shouting in the officials’ faces during Liverpool’s game against Manchester City earlier this month, and was later punished with a £30,000 fine by the FA.
Klopp’s fury conveyed in his facial expressions didn’t help his cause when he saw red against Man Citygetty
After his star man Salah was fouled by Silva but no free-kick was awardedAFP
Despite seeing a straight red, English football’s governing body decided not to give him a touchline ban for his behaviour, though.
Now, following the news of his punishment, the German has admitted he probably wouldn’t have received any punishment at all had he controlled his facial expressions when speaking to the ref.
When asked if his fine was a fair punishment during his press conference for this weekend’s match against Leeds – which is LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on talkSPORT – Klopp took a long, measured pause before answering.
“So I know what I said,” the Reds boss began, having previously admitted he ‘lost it’ on the sidelines and apologised for his actions.
“But I know if I say that from a further distance and with a different [facial expression] it would’ve been completely fine.
“Because I said, ‘How could you not [give a free-kick]? How?’”, he said, mimicking how wide he opened his mouth in the incident, “I know how it looked.
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Klopp saw red in more ways than one against last season’s title rivals Citysky sports
“So, the most expensive face, not sure [about] in the world, but at least here. I think it’s a lot of money but I heard it’ll be invested into something good and that’s fine.
“Should I have got a ban? I don’t know. I’ve never been in this situation, I’ve never had a red card, I’ve never had a yellow card as far as I know.
“I didn’t follow other coaches that got shown a red card and what they got so I don’t know.”
When told this weekend’s opposition manager Jesse Marsch received a red card and a touchline ban earlier this season, Klopp said: “I’m the wrong person to ask [about if it was the right decision].
“I had a touchline ban years ago in the Champions League with Dortmund in a very similar situation, but obviously Champions League is quite different.
Marsch got sent off at Brentford in September as he was left furious after his side were denied a penaltyGetty
“I’m not happy, I’m not relieved or whatever. I was just ready to take the punishment and go from there.”
Meanwhile, Klopp provided an update on his side’s long list of injuries.
The German confirmed he expects captain Jordan Henderson to be okay for Saturday’s game and Ibrahima Konate is available, too.
But the biggest boost of all is Liverpool will also have Thiago Alcantara back in the squad, after the midfielder suffered from an ear infection that caused him to miss the games against Nottingham Forest and Ajax.
