Klopp is not overwhelmed by Old Trafford demonstrations but maintains violence against police crossed a line.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believed some demonstrators crossed a line during the protests that caused their match with Manchester United at Old Trafford to be rescheduled.
The Red Devils fans protested to the Glazer family’s possession of the club assembled at the stadium and outside the hotel where the teams were staying before last Sunday’s match as part of organized efforts to interrupt the fixture.
Some supporters were able to get onto the pitch at Old Trafford and there were some intense collisions with police outside the ground.
United issued a statement asserting a minority of fans had caused unlawful damage to access the pitch, while Greater Manchester Police said 12 police had reported injuries, one of whom had a broken eye socket and facial wound.
One individual has been charged with throwing fireworks in a street, using intimidating behavior and wilful blocking of the highway for his part in the demonstrations at the Lowry Hotel.
Klopp, who was watching TV coverage display with his players in the hotel lobby as he remained calm to learn whether the game would go on, said such demonstrations should always be “completely peaceful”.
Speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League match with Southampton on Saturday, Klopp said
“Am I surprised that these kinds of things happen? No. I’m an absolute believer in democracy, [which] means I’m happy that people want to tell their opinion, that’s completely fine, but I know that in situations like this it doesn’t happen often that nobody gets hurt.
“That’s why I said a week before when all the pundits were going and asking for protests and stuff that we had to be careful and calm down and ask for the right things. I heard some policemen got injured and these kinds of things should not happen, breaking down the doors and stuff like this.
“To tell your opinion, to tell the world what you think about some things is completely fine, as long as it’s completely peaceful. It was not, as far as I know, completely peaceful. Then, it’s not right anymore.”
ALSO READ:
- PSG targets Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as possible Kylian Mbappe replacement.
- The advice Jurgen Klopp gave Steven Gerrard before he left Liverpool.
- Liverpool’s Salah honored with the Laureus Sporting Inspiration award.
- Every Premier League club most feared opponents.
Manchester United game was rescheduled for May 13, a settlement that left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer annoyed as it means the Red Devils must play three times in just five days.
“Of course, I feel sympathy for him because it’s not how it should be, but it’s not good for us, to be honest. I would have preferred to play the game last week,” Klopp said.
“Now, we have five games in the last two weeks, so that’s not really cool as well, but it is how it is. Nothing to complain about or whatever. It’s just the situation.”
Klopp, who is not giving up on making a finish into the top four, holds tjhat he and his players will have uncovered a lot from a tough season ruined by injuries.
“I know people think that’s an excuse,” he said.
“In the moment when we lost our full defence, it felt like you break your leg. That’s okay, you can still limp with that, but then we had to make our midfielders to transform them into defenders. Then, we broke pretty much our spine, and it’s difficult to move.
“In the beginning when we had problems, we were still kind of winning, in a good position but it’s a long season and if anything else happens, we will struggle, and that’s what happened.
“To be in the position we were two years before, we needed to be nearly perfect and the situation needed to be nearly perfect. In a moment when it’s not perfect for us, the league is too strong.
“Could we now, instead of seventh, be fifth or fourth? Yes, of course, no doubt about that. We should have done better in specific moments. But you asked me what was the challenge: to deal with the amount of injuries was the challenge, and we couldn’t deal with it as well as we wanted throughout the whole season.
“I was most of the time not champion in my career, so I try to learn always. Did I learn a lot? Yeah, for sure. Some things you want to learn, some things you don’t want to experience.
“The players learned a lot as well – that’s clear. That’s the plan: that we use our new experience for the future, for next season especially, but you’ll have to wait until then so we can show that we really got it.”
ALSO READ:
- The top 20 highest goal scorers in Champions League history.
- Clubs that have already been crowned league champions across Europe.
- Ballon d’Or 2021 Power Rankings. Top 20.
- Not Kevin De Bruyne, Not Bruno Fernandes. Who tops in the best premier league players this season?
- English Premier League’s top earners in each position.
- Top 5 Young Stars Who Could Win The Ballon d’Or in future.
LIKE OUR: FACEBOOK PAGE JOIN OUR: Telegram Group.
JOIN OUR: Facebook Group. JOIN OUR: Telegram Channel.
Klopp is not overwhelmed by Old Trafford demonstrations but maintains violence against police crossed a line.
