Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was visibly uncomfortable when asked whether VAR was fit for purpose in his pre-Newcastle United press conference. Officiating is once again a hot topic of discussion after a controversial decision during Arsenal’s defeat to West Ham on Thursday evening.
Tomas Soucek rifled in the Hammers’ opener at the Emirates Stadium, but questions immediately arose over whether Jarrod Bowen had successfully kept the ball in play before playing it across to his Czech team-mate.
The on-field decision was to let the goal stand, and VAR did not have access to camera angles that gave conclusive evidence to the contrary. Konstantinos Mavropanos later put the game to bed with a powerful header, but the effectiveness of VAR was still thrown up for debate by the earlier incident.
Klopp snapped back when asked for his take ahead of Liverpool’s match with Newcastle on New Year’s Day, saying: “I really don’t think that I should answer this question.
“It’s not that you use me, [it’s that] I give you the opportunity too often to use my phrases. It’s not interesting anymore and it doesn’t help.
“What I say now is ‘Klopp says’ and the problem we all see, every day pretty much, whenever we watch a game we say ‘How is that possible?’. We can talk on and on but we know it already. The authorities probably know it already.”
“He’s a very smart footballer,” Klopp added. “He understands the game on a different level, definitely. He sees situations slightly earlier, adapts to things quicker.
“On top of that he’s both-footed and a great finisher. He’s back now and I hope he’s back for the long term. We need Diogo and these boys – you must be special to play for Liverpool otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”
