Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has bitten back at Jurgen Klopp’s comments regarding penalties, saying he and others are “influencing referees”.
Liverpool have had every right to feel done by this season, with endless bad decisions going against them, from offside calls to penalty shouts.
On the flip side, Manchester United appear to win a spot-kick every other game, regardless of how soft they are.
After Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Monday, Klopp had a dig at United, bringing up the fact that they’ve won more penalties in two years than the Reds have in over five under him.
Solskjaer has now given his opinion on the matter, telling reporters that the Reds boss is trying to alter officials’ thinking:
I can’t talk on behalf of other managers, why they say things like this.
Obviously I felt it worked last year in the semi in the FA Cup because Frank spoke about it and we had a nailed on penalty that we should have had that we didn’t get so maybe it’s a way of influencing referees.
I don’t know, but I don’t worry about that. When they foul our players it’s a penalty. It’s just when it’s inside the box.
Read Liverpool Verdict
This is a classic case of taking the bait, with Solskjaer seemingly irked by Klopp’s comments.
The German’s remarks were very much out of the Alex Ferguson book of mind games, and while the legendary ex-United manager would likely not respond to such words, Solskjaer has done the opposite.
Bias is something that will always exist in football, but Klopp was right to highlight the inconsistencies in refereeing currently, with United genuinely favoured over others.
This war of words will make the upcoming Premier League clash between the two teams a week on Sunday even more spicy.
