Klopp said he would be hit with “the biggest fine in world football” if he said what he really thought about Harry Kane’s 95th-minute penalty – his 100th Premier League goal – after assistant referee Ed Smart called Virgil van Dijk up for a kick on Spurs substitute Erik Lamela.
Referee Jon Moss had waved play on before talking to Smart and then changing his mind. Moss had also consulted the assistant over another penalty given to Spurs 10 minutes earlier, when Kane had initially appeared to be offside. That penalty was saved by Liverpool’s keeper Lorius Karius.
Mohamed Salah had earlier scored his 20th and 21st league goals to put Klopp’s side ahead on two occasions, sandwiching Victor Wanyama’s stunning equaliser.
“It’s not a penalty,” Klopp said. “I’ve heard Lamela was offside with one leg, running into Virgil van Dijk. Virgil sees him at the last moment, stops the movement but still touches him. Lamela is already on the way down. The referee says keep on going and the linesman makes the decision. That’s what everybody saw.
“It was obviously not his day. The first penalty, it was one of the clearest offside situations I have seen. Unless there’s a new rule. Is there?
“When the ball left the foot of the Tottenham player, Harry Kane is offside. This situation has never changed. Dejan touched it. My defence put Kane offside, that’s good defending. I don’t know what they discussed this time, I would be really interested what the referee and assistant were saying.”
Klopp suggested that Spurs were diving and “wanting to go down”.
“It was not a dive of Lamela. He jumped in the situation, he wanted the contact. He didn’t look back in the situation; he didn’t even look at the ball.
“I am angry but I can’t change anything. What’s my job now – to create headlines? To be punished? To pay a fine?
“If I say what I think, I would pay the biggest fine in world football. That makes absolutely no sense. I have no problem with people making mistakes but, if you don’t see the situation, step aside.
“At the end I’ve learned something new and now people will think I know nothing about football because I thought it was offside. But the second one, it’s not about who is where. In the 93rd minute you whistle a penalty when you are 100% sure.
“There were no other incidents in the box apart from the Alli situation. It’s clear in these situations the opposition wants to go down, wants to cause these type of problems.”
Unsurprisingly, Mauricio Pochettino had a differing opinion, the Argentine congratulating Moss on his performance, saying the match officials “were right in every single decision.”
“Sometimes you complain but, when they are right and show character, I think it is important to recognise and congratulate them, because they have a difficult job.”
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