November 04, (THEWILL) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he has no issues with Atletico Madrid rival Diego Simeone, despite the duo refusing to shake hands after the game on Wednesday.
Simeone’s decision to run down the tunnel and leave Klopp hanging during the first encounter between these two sides last month sparked outrage, and everyone was waiting to see if the duo would shake hands again.
However, as THEWILL reported, Simeone stated that he does not agree with shaking hands after any match and that he did not intend to follow the UK ‘custom’ of greeting Klopp after the match, which is exactly what happened.
Simeone insisted that his actions were not meant to be disrespectful to Klopp, and the Liverpool manager acknowledged this after the final whistle.
“It’s absolutely no problem at all,” Klopp said. “I know Diego doesn’t like these kinds of things and I am not the biggest handshaker on the planet and want to annoy people with my handshaking. He doesn’t like it and I didn’t go over, but that doesn’t change my respect for him and the work he is doing.”
Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane in the first half. The Senegal forward was also involved in another controversy in the first 45 minutes when he was fouled by Felipe, who was surprisingly shown a straight red card for what appeared to be a fairly innocuous challenge.
Felipe cynically tripped Mane on the counter, and most expected him to receive a yellow card. However, when he refused to go over to the referee to receive his punishment, the Brazilian was surprisingly shown a straight red, with some speculating that his dissent may have earned him an early bath.
About the incident, Klopp admitted: “So, I didn’t see in the first place that it was a red card. For me, it was a yellow card. And I saw it back and then you see that the foot is high and hits his Achilles, so it’s a decision [of] the referee. I think of the law it’s a red card.
“So do I want the other team going one man down? No, not at all. I think we were the better side already against 11 but with an intense schedule we have, I think it is very important that you control the game after that a lot, and we did that.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
