Klopp claims there was second "unprecedented" howler in Liverpool loss at Spurs

04 October 2023 , 15:23

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Klopp claims there was second "unprecedented" howler in Liverpool loss at Spurs

Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool's wrongly disallowed goal was NOT the only "unprecedented" refereeing howler in their controversial loss at Tottenham.

The Reds boss also reckons that Diogo Jota's sending off was something that has never been seen before. The Liverpool forward was shown two yellow cards in the space of two minutes, leaving Klopp's side reduced to nine men. They ultimately suffered a 2-1 defeat when Joel Matip fired into his own net deep into injury time.

Jota's first booking - perceived to be harsh by fans and pundits alike - came when he tripped Spurs left-back Iyenoma Udogie. A minute later, Liverpool's half-time substitute saw yellow for the second time when he lunged in on Udogie after losing possession.

Klopp is still furious over the decision to dismiss the Portuguese. Liverpool appealed against Curtis Jones' first-half dismissal for a dangerous studs-up challenge on Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma - which also left him unhappy - but cannot appeal a dismissal for two yellows as it wasn't a case of mistaken identity.

The Kop boss claimed:"Diogo Jota also got two yellow cards for not touching a player once," the Reds manager claimed. "That's unprecedented as well. But that's fine."

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It clearly isn't fine for Klopp, who also demanded there should be a replay of the match. The main point of controversy came when Liverpool thought they'd taken an early lead through Luis Diaz, but the offside flag was raised and VAR commenced a check to ensure that the correct decision had been made.

The problem was that the officials at Stockley Park in charge of the review thought the on-field decision was to award the goal, therefore not correcting Hooper and telling him "check complete." On Monday, the PMGOL released audio of the frantic conversation between the officials, not that it changed Klopp's feelings on the incident.

Have your say! Did Diogo Jota deserve to be sent off against Tottenham? Join the debate in the comments section.

Diogo Jota was shown two yellow cards in the space of two minutes (Getty Images)

"The audio didn't change it at all because I was not really interested in why things happen. I saw the outcome, I saw a goal, and I saw it didn't count. It's really important that we deal with it in a proper way," the German said ahead of his side's Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday.

"The only outcome should be a replay…probably won't happen. The argument against that will be if we open that gate everyone will ask for it. I think the situation is unprecedented.

"I'm 56 years old and I'm absolutely used to wrong decisions. But something like that as far as I can remember has never happened.

"That's why it should be a replay."

Nathan Ridley