A former Premier League referee, Keith Hackett, has criticized Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for his actions on the touchline and comments towards officials and called him out for his ‘weak’ behavior.
The former head of referees has called on officials to be stricter on the Liverpool boss’ conduct, as he also criticized weak fourth officials for not enforcing rules correctly.
Managers confronting referees on the pitch has become a common sight within the Premier League but is against regulations – and Hackett name-checked Klopp as he called on officials to be tougher overall.
“First of all, I’m very clear that managers should not be allowed to come onto the field of play at the end of the game. Stop them coming on”, he said.
“It might be great that Klopp runs down the touchline but why do we have a technical area?
“Why do we have a procedure in place that says you stay in your technical area? Yet we don’t apply it.
“To some degree, fourth officials are weak and are ignoring it. Sometimes, it’s not what he says, it’s how he communicates.
“I think the FA might want to write him a four-page letter explaining his misdemeanors and that we want an improvement in his behaviour. A shot across the barrel.”
Hackett’s rant comes in the wake of a Mirror column that suggested that both Klopp and Pep Guardiola get lenient treatment for their behaviour from referees due to their high profiles. Klopp attracted media attention when he questioned the new directives handed to Premier League referees for the new season, in the wake of the Reds’ game against Burnley in August.
Chelsea also received two charges from the FA last week, following their players’ actions after Reece James was sent off for handball against Liverpool at Anfield. The 77-year-old former FIFA ref has suggested that any disagreements that teams have with a referee should be discussed away from the pitch.
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“Allow [managers] to knock on the referee’s door 30 minutes after the game to seek clarification, Hackett told Football Insider.
“If they’re not happy with the referee’s explanation they can talk to the match delegate and explain their frustration and put it in a written report. All they have to do is write.
“The shareholders of the Premier League are the clubs. If they’ve got a concern there is an avenue in which they can write to the Premier League and say ‘Look we have a concern with this particular area’.