Jurgen Klopp has been fined £45,000 (€55,000) after accepting an English Football Association (FA) charge for questioning the integrity of a match official.
The Liverpool manager was punished for making remarks about referee Kevin Friend in the aftermath of his side’s 1-1 draw with West Ham on February 4. The German admitted breaking the rules.
Klopp had suggested Friend favoured West Ham in the second half of the fixture, having realised an error was made when Liverpool’s opening goal – scored by Sadio Mane – was allowed despite an offside in the build-up.
“I think the referee knew at half-time. He knew at half-time and then you saw a lot of strange decisions,” Klopp said after the game.
It is the second time this season Klopp has been in trouble with the ruling body. He was fined £8,000 and warned about his future behaviour by the FA in December, after accepting a charge of improper conduct for running on to the pitch to celebrate a 96th-minute Merseyside-derby winner by Divock Origi.
Klopp’s fine came as it was revealed that Liverpool’s run to last year’s Champions League final helped contribute £575m to the UK economy.
The financial impact on the Liverpool region during the course of the 2017-18 season was worth £497m of this figure, a report compiled by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group showed.