Klopp Says Referee Tierney Has Something ‘Against’ Liverpool

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 30, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 30, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
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Klopp Says Referee Tierney Has Something ‘Against’ Liverpool

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 30, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 30, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

Juergen Klopp accused referee Paul Tierney of having something "against" Liverpool after their thrilling 4-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Liverpool led 3-0 after 15 minutes but were pegged back to 3-3 when Richarlison headed past Alisson in stoppage time, with Klopp protesting a free-kick awarded to Tottenham in the build-up to the equalizer.

Diogo Jota then scored Liverpool's winner a minute later and Klopp confronted the fourth official before racing down the touchline to celebrate - for which he was shown a yellow card by Tierney.

Klopp has criticized Tierney in the past, saying he should have shown Spurs striker Harry Kane a red card for a dangerous tackle in a meeting between the sides in 2021, and on Sunday the German manager said Liverpool have "history" with the referee.

"I really don't know what he has against us," Klopp told Sky Sports. "He has said there is no problems but that cannot be true.

"How he looks at me, I don't understand it ... My celebration was unnecessary, which is fair, but what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not OK."

Klopp did not provide further details on the incident.

Referee's body PGMOL said they were aware of Klopp's comments, adding: "Match officials in the Premier League are recorded in all games via a communications system.

"Having fully reviewed the audio of referee Paul Tierney from today's fixture, we can confirm he acted in a professional manner throughout, including when issuing the caution to the Liverpool manager so, therefore, we strongly refute any suggestion that Tierney's actions were improper."

Klopp has been punished for comments about referees in the past. He was fined 45,000 pounds ($56,502) by the FA in 2019 for remarks about Kevin Friend.



Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal Fly Asian Standard at Club World Cup 

Football - Saudi Pro League – Al-Hilal v Al Qadsiah - Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 26, 2025 Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goa. (Reuters)
Football - Saudi Pro League – Al-Hilal v Al Qadsiah - Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 26, 2025 Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goa. (Reuters)
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Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal Fly Asian Standard at Club World Cup 

Football - Saudi Pro League – Al-Hilal v Al Qadsiah - Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 26, 2025 Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goa. (Reuters)
Football - Saudi Pro League – Al-Hilal v Al Qadsiah - Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 26, 2025 Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goa. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal will be the standard bearers for Asian football at the revamped Club World Cup after appointing Simone Inzaghi to coach a squad bristling with playing talent from the Kingdom and around the world.

Ruben Neves, Joao Cancelo, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have all joined Saudi captain Salem Al-Dawsari at the Riyadh-based club since it received major investment from the nation's Public Investment Fund.

Former Inter Milan coach Inzaghi takes over a squad that fell short of their lofty standards by failing to win a fifth Asian Champions League title in May, a misstep that cost Jorge Jesus the chance to lead the team to the Club World Cup.

While Al-Hilal head to the tournament with ambitions of making a big impact in a group also featuring Real Madrid, Pachuca and Red Bull Salzburg, the expectations for Asia's three other clubs are likely to be more modest.

Emirati side Al-Ain won the 2024 Asian Champions League to secure their berth but have endured a dismal 13 months since, and the defense of their continental title ended in ignominy with no wins from eight matches.

Hernan Crespo, who had led the club to their second Asian title, paid the price in November but his replacement Leonardo Jardim lasted only two months before Serbian Vladimir Ivic was drafted in to try to stop the rot.

Togolese striker Kodjo Laba, who was top scorer in the UAE Pro League last season, and Moroccan winger Soufiane Rahimi will be Al-Ain's biggest attacking threats when they take on Manchester City, Juventus and Wydad in the group stage.

At least one Asian team will go into the competition in decent form with Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds showing improved domestic performances under Maciej Skorza.

The Pole led Urawa to the Asian Champions League title in 2023, five months after replacing Ricardo Rodriguez, only to leave at the end of that season for personal reasons.

He returned in late 2024 and has developed a side that are contenders to win the J.League for the first time since their sole title in 2006.

Former Japan midfielder Genki Haraguchi has returned to Urawa after a decade in Germany to lead the club's resurgence alongside the experienced Takahiro Sekine, who was instrumental in the club's Asian Champions League wins in 2017 and 2022.

Urawa have been drawn with River Plate, Inter Milan and Monterrey at the Club World Cup.

South Korea's Ulsan HD will be playing in the competition for the third time after featuring in the earlier iteration in 2012 and 2020.

Kim Pan-gon's side qualified due to the club's record in Asian competition over the last four years, during which Ulsan reach the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League in 2021 and 2023.

Both of those runs, though, were achieved under former coach Hong Myung-bo, now the South Korea national team boss, with the team's performances becoming more inconsistent after Kim's arrival last summer.

The former Malaysia coach took over with minimal exposure to top-level club football and his side, who will play Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns in Group F, face a stiff challenge to make a positive impact in the United States.

Jung Woo-young played at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and brings stability to the Ulsan midfield, while goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo played a key role as South Korea eliminated world champions Germany in 2018.