(Reuters) – Juergen Klopp adopted the role of peacemaker on Sunday when the Liverpool manager stepped in to pacify Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto de Zerbi during an angry exchange with officials on the touchline of a 2-2 Premier League draw.
De Zerbi was shown a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor in the 69th minute at the Amex Stadium for his remonstration as Brighton were denied a penalty after Kaoru Mitoma’s shot hit the arm of Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
The Italian manager continued to protest after being booked, before Klopp intervened and attempted to calm him down.
“In the moment when he got a bit outraged I used my age and tried to calm him down,” 56-year-old Klopp, who has himself clashed with referees on numerous occasions in the past, told reporters.
“I just saw if I am in a moment like this, there’s a moment of no going back that appears.
“I think he was close to that and then I tried to calm him down. I am not sure if he needed it or not, you can ask him, but he probably told me something about the penalty, but I had no clue what he was talking about. I think he wanted a penalty…”
Asked about the incident, De Zerbi told reporters: “I love Klopp and he can do what he wants, because I have big respect for him and I consider him as one of the best coaches in the world,” De Zerbi told reporters.
“I like his behaviour and when he says something, 99 percent of the time I agree with him. In that situation, I think there was a clear penalty. I told the referee, I think in a good way, what I thought.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
