Monterrey Manager Tells His Side of Klopp Fracas

Maybe the most entertaining part of either of Liverpool’s Club World Cup games came in the semi-final against Monterrey. It’s not often that we see Klopp insert himself into the narrative of a game, but in this one, he and Monterrey manager Antonio Mohamed appeared to trade some harsh words. The encounter paused the game and led referee Roberto Tobar issuing both managers a yellow card.

Liverpool ended up winning the game and heading to the final off of a late Roberto Firmino goal, which couldn’t have made Mohamed feel much better.

Recently, the manager was interviewed for an Argentinean publication called Enganche, where he was asked to explain the encounter.

“Klopp disrespected me, I felt he tried to trash me,” Mohamed explained.

”He kept asking for a yellow card saying that we were fouling Salah, but when I did the same towards one of their players, he stuck out his tongue and made fun of me. When I saw him, I laughed at first, and then I got a little angry and rose to his bait, then my background came out and I lost all elegance and composure.”

The player in question was Joe Gomez, who Mohamed believed should have received a second yellow card for committing a handball. Mohamed waved his hand to the ref for a card, and Klopp mimicked the gesture back at him.

So some hot blood boiling over in steamy Qatar, but by the end, both managers had reined in their tempers to shake each other’s hand.