Klopp accuses referee Tierney of grudge hostile after beating Spurs

Jürgen Klopp has accused referee Paul Tierney of having a grudge against Liverpool after his team's thrilling 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. Liverpool advanced 3-0 in the first quarter of an hour, but Tottenham rose up to tie 3-3 when Richarlison hit Alisson with a header in stoppage time. Klopp was booked by Tierney for sprinting up to the face of fourth official John Brooks when celebrating Diogo Jota’s 94th minute winner at Anfield, which came 99 seconds after Richarlison appeared to have completed Spurs’ comeback from three goals down. Spurs’ interim manager Ryan Mason felt Jota should not have been on the pitch to score having escaped a red card for catching Oliver Skipp in the face with a boot. But Klopp claimed his team were on the receiving end of harsh decisions from Tierney, who has history with the Liverpool manager. The Football Association is likely to look into Klopp’s comments as they question the integrity of a match official. Klopp, who pulled a hamstring when running up to Brooks, said: “How they can give a foul on Mohamed Salah [just before Spurs’ third goal]? We have our history with Tierney. I really don’t know what he has against us. He has said there are no problems but that cannot be true. How he looks at me, I don’t understand it. My celebration was unnecessary, which is fair, but what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not OK.” In response to Klopp’s comments, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited said that Tierney’s exchange with Klopp had been recorded by the officials’ microphones and insisted: “He acted in a professional manner throughout, including when issuing the caution to the Liverpool manager.” Klopp later declined to elaborate on what Tierney said. “I will not say anything about it. The refs don’t say what is said so I don’t say what is said.” The manager claimed Anfield was guilty of complacency after Liverpool had raced into a three-goal lead after 15 minutes and asked supporters not to sing his praises during a game. The Referees Committee said that it is aware of Klopp's comments, noting that there are recordings of Premier League referees in all matches via the communication system. "After a full review of the recording of referee Paul Tierney's voice at yesterday's meeting, we can confirm that he handled it in a professional manner, including at the time of the Liverpool coach's warning, so we completely dispel any speculation about improper behavior from Tierney," the committee said.  Klopp has been punished for comments about referees in the past. He was fined 45,000 pounds ($56,502) by the FA in 2019 for remarks about Kevin Friend.