'Jurgen Klopp Tells Fans To ‘Calm Down’ Amid Protests From Arsenal And Chelsea Supporters

News 11:16 AM

Liverpool manager warned fans they needed to "calm down" amid protests over the aborted European Super League.

Chelsea and Arsenal supporters have been protesting outside of their stadiums, while Liverpool and Leeds fans both made their feelings clear outside Elland Road during the midweek game between the two sides.

But, before his side's Saturday kick-off against Newcastle, Klopp made an appeal for all supporters to move on and accused the media of whipping up a frenzy among fans.

"Look, it hurt a lot," he said of the backlash Liverpool had received. "Yes, our owners made a mistake. We've said it often enough, they know it and all these kind of things.

"What I didn't like in that moment was - and the Leeds supporters were a good example, they went on us [booing the Liverpool team bus]. We had nothing to do with that, we are just the face of the club. Our supporters had nothing to do with that.

'We didn't even have the idea, we had nothing to do about it and that's what for me is really important that we don't forget that.

"I see the pictures [in] the last few days of Arsenal and Chelsea, stuff like this... I really think you all have to calm down."

The Reds boss also accused the media of antagonising supporters.

"Yesterday on Sky, three journalists sitting all day talking about it, it's winding up people," he said. "You cannot just create other pictures, we are still in a pandemic. People are out there without face masks and shouting their opinion out.

"All the pundits have to calm down as well a little bit because, yes, no one wanted it, definitely. But now let's deal with it and not constantly show we didn't want it.

"We know it, it's all clear now, people who made the decisions they learnt a lesson, I'm 100% sure. Let's just relax a little bit. We have to carry on, that's always how it is."

Klopp's response was designed to focus attention back on results as Liverpool battle for a top-four spot, but many fans and ex-players said he's missed the mark with his comments - that it was overdue that disaffected supporters made their voices heard.

"A handful of owners try to tear our game apart and may well try to do so again, and we're just told to 'calm down and move on'," responded Gary Lineker on Twitter.

"Huge admirer of Klopp but he's spectacularly tone deaf here. Without the fans of our beautiful game it would be much uglier today."

While Crystal Palace fan @HLTCO replied: "We're not even a week removed from six billionaires trying to destroy football as we know it. The main driving force in stopping that was the widespread outrage from across fanbases.

"Now is not the time to calm down, now is the time to carry on and stop it ever happening again."

Do you agree with Klopp that the backlash has gone too far? Or has the Liverpool manager misread this one? Let us know in the comments

Featured image credit: BT Sport/Twitter



source https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-reactions-jurgen-klopp-tells-fans-to-calm-down-amid-super-league-protests-20210424

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