Following Jurgen Klopp’s comments about referee Paul Tierney, Liverpool contacted the FA to complain about Mo Salah’s unfair treatment
Klopp has learned his punishment for Tierney’s perceived bias against Liverpool following the 4-3 win over Tottenham in April.
The manager was fined £75,000 and given a two-match ban, one of which was suspended, meaning he will miss Saturday’s home game against Aston Villa.
His altercation with Tierney appears to have been the culmination of a series of incidents, including two specific challenges on Salah in the aforementioned victory over Spurs and the 1-0 win over Man City in October.
Salah was hauled down in the linesman’s direct line on both occasions, and neither time was a foul called.
In fact, in his clash with Tottenham defender Ben Davies, the foul went the other way, much to the chagrin of Klopp and his No. 11.
The FA published the documentation of their case against Klopp on Thursday afternoon, after confirming his punishment.
According to these notes, Liverpool complained about unfair treatment of Salah by officials in correspondence with the FA during their investigation.
Tierney did not play against Manchester City in October, but he has had a history of disagreements with Klopp dating back to 2017.
Defenders appear to be given the benefit of the doubt in challenges on Salah, with the Egyptian only adjudged to have been fouled 31 times in the Premier League this season.
That is fewer than 61 other players and at least half as many as nine different players, including Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka, who was vehemently defended by the Times’ Henry Winter during Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Brighton.
“At some point, officials are going to have to discuss whether they are prepared to protect players like Bukayo Saka,” Winter wrote on Twitter.
According to WhoScored, Salah has attempted 120 dribbles in the Premier League this season, with only six players attempting more – Saka leading the way with 156.
The 30-year-old has a 37.5 percent dribble success rate and 3.9 attempted dribbles per foul given.
The FA made no further comment on Liverpool’s complaint about Salah’s treatment in their statement, instead focusing on Klopp.
Leave a Reply