Jurgen Klopp hasn’t always had the best relationship with Premier League referees, but one name tends to resurface more than most.
The level of refereeing in England has been criticized at various times in recent times, and the Liverpool manager never hesitates to express his feelings when decisions go against his team.
Paul Tierney has felt the weight of that more than most, but largely because he has made a disproportionate number of controversial decisions at the Reds’ expense.
Despite emerging with a 2-0 win, in the Boxing Day clash against Burnley, the referee further fell out of favor with Liverpool fans after disallowing two further goals scored by Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo.
Here’s a look at some of Klopp’s most memorable lines when talking about an official he has a lot of history with!
“I don’t have problems with any referee, only with you”
Perhaps Klopp’s most famous quote about Tierney came after an action-packed 2-2 draw against Tottenham in December 2021, when he told Tierney: “I have no problem with any referee, only you.”
It came after the Reds missed out on what would have been a vital three points in north London, when Tierney sent off Andy Robertson for a tackle that looked equally, if not less dangerous, than a challenge from Harry Kane in the same match. .
However, that was not the first time the two clashed, as Tierney told the Liverpool manager to “get over it” after the referee failed to award a free-kick for a foul on Gini Wijnaldum in the team’s winning season. qualification. 2019/20.
“What he told me was not right.”
There have been enough incidents between the two that Klopp affectionately, shall we say, gives him the nickname “Mr. Tierney” to his favorite Premier League official.
Speaking after being booked for excessive celebration during last season’s dramatic 4-3 win over Tottenham, Klopp was unhappy with comments sent his way by the referee, the extent of which he was unwilling to reveal at the time. moment.
“What he told me was not right,” were the coach’s words after the game.
“We have to ask Mr. Tierney what’s going on.”
Klopp later insisted that conversation had been some kind of misunderstanding, but that doesn’t seem to have helped smooth things over.
“We had our problems”
The manager was more pragmatic in his approach when reacting to Robertson’s elbow from Tierney’s assistant Constantine Hatzidakis during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal earlier this year.
The German got out of trouble by simply saying: “I think there are some things we could talk about, but they’re not very helpful and that’s why I’d rather not talk about them.
“But we had our problems with some referees.”
icy relationship
The start of the dispute dates back to 2017, when Dominic Solanke was unlucky to be denied a goal for offside in a decision Klopp described as “unfortunate”.
Tierney also failed to concede a penalty for a flagrant foul on Sadio Mane against Newcastle in 2020, as well as blowing the half-time whistle prematurely as the Senegalese striker managed to score against Man United the following month.
The pair are unlikely to agree any time soon, but Tierney’s performances have recently seen him achieve a rare feat of being named in a song on the Kop.
Let’s hope we don’t see much of him between now and May!
