Jurgen Klopp says Kevin Friend rudely shut him down after Liverpool’s controversial 1-1 draw with West Ham on Monday evening.
Klopp was seen confronting the official on the pitch after last night’s draw with Klopp suggesting that Friend had started to favour West Ham in the second half after finding out at the interval that Liverpool’s goal was offside.
Sadio Mane turned smartly in the box to fire the Reds ahead, but in the build-up James Milner, who made the assist, was two yards offside and right in front of the referee’s assistant on the right side.
West Ham quickly equalised through Michail Antonio’s angled finish, while Liverpool had the chance to win the game in stoppage through Divock Origi, who was also offside, but he shot straight at the keeper with the referee’s assistant, getting the call wrong.
“I think it’s a deserved draw. We were not at our best,” said an agitated Klopp.
“We had good moments, scored a goal that was offside but I think the ref knew at half-time and you saw there were a lot of strange situations, not decisive, just rhythm breakers…50-50s, 60-40s, free-kick for the other team. I said to the referee about a lot of situations, I was really calm…it’s nothing serious.
“He didn’t respond nicely and I said, ‘is that the way we talk now?’ and he said, ‘we don’t talk at all’.
“We had to change three positions, we trained a lot but we didn’t get taller with the changes. They are really strong. The goal they scored – we knew about the routine but they’re smart, really good.”