Jurgen Klopp rows back on replay comments and insists Liverpool are "over it"

06 October 2023 , 08:28

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Jurgen Klopp rows back on replay comments and insists Liverpool are "over it"

Jurgen Klopp has insisted Liverpool are "over" the VAR debacle at Tottenham despite initially calling for the match to be replayed this week.

On Thursday night, Klopp saw his side comfortably negotiate their latest Europa League tie, beating Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 at Anfield. It proved welcome respite for the Reds amid a saga that has dominated the headlines, after it emerged that Luis Diaz wrongly had a goal ruled out during their 2-1 defeat in north London.

In his pre-match press conference for the European game, Klopp had been asked on what the outcome to the controversy should be, replying: "As a football person I think the only outcome should be a replay, that is how it is."

But after his side prevailed thanks to goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota, the German boss appeared to temper his views, implying his comments had been taken out of context. "I knew it would be difficult when yesterday I spoke about the other game," he said.

"I knew. And you proved to me, again, everybody, just how the world is. I think everybody who was here heard what I said, but everybody understood obviously something else! But it’s okay!"

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And he insisted the Tottenham result was behind both him and his squad, ahead of a trip to Brighton on Sunday. "If I made the impression yesterday that I was still in the game against Tottenham, I was not at all," he added.

Jurgen Klopp has backtracked on his calls for Tottenham v Liverpool to be replayed (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

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"That was long ago. We are over that and that’s fine. We are not children or whatever. We just had a few questions to answer and did that."

The PGMOL have apologised to Liverpool over the incident, but a subsequent club statement seemingly refused to draw a line under the incident, stating they were still "exploring options" over what action to take. The audio of the blunder has since been released, and now PGMOL chief Howard Webb is set to address the issue.

The Mail has reported that the former Premier League official will speak about the "significant human error", during the next instalment of 'Match Officials: Mic'd Up'. The segment is set to air on Sky Sports and TNT Sports in the coming days.

Fraser Watson