‘We are over it’ – Jurgen Klopp says his replay comments were misunderstood

The Merseysiders saw Luis Diaz’s first-half strike incorrectly ruled out for offside in north London on Saturday after a mix-up between the on-field officials and VAR team.

VAR Darren England incorrectly relayed a ‘check complete’ message to on-pitch referee Simon Hooper having mistakenly thought the goal had been given and when play restarted with a free-kick to Spurs they were no longer able to intervene.

Prior to facing Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League on Thursday night – a match they comfortably won 2-0 – Klopp created headlines at his pre-match press conference when he appeared to call for a replay.

‘As a football person I think the only outcome should be a replay, that is how it is,’ he said. ‘It probably won’t happen.’

But Klopp has now explained that he was not demanding a replay and his words were misunderstood, while he insists he – and the entire Liverpool team – have already put the VAR debacle behind them.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Klopp said: ‘I knew it would be difficult when yesterday I spoke about the other game. I knew. And you proved to me, again, everybody, just how the world is.

‘I think everybody who was here heard what I said, but everybody understood obviously something else! But it’s okay!

‘If I made the impression yesterday that I was still in the game against Tottenham, I was not at all. That was long ago. We are over that and that’s fine.’

He added: ‘We are not children or whatever. We just had a few questions to answer and did that.’

Klopp also referenced his comments in his pre-match interview with TNT Sports, saying: ‘I think with the headlines unintentionally I created and with the press conference, I’m completely over it, it’s nothing so we don’t have it in our mind.

‘Its difficult to not have in your mind, you open something and it’s like oops it’s still something but we have nothing to do with it anymore.

‘Thats now other people who take care of that, and we are completely focussed.’

Reflecting on the win over Union, Klopp said: ’So really good start, lost rhythm slightly, gave too many set-pieces away, obviously.

‘They had 50/50 situations, I think the biggest situation was after a set-piece when Ali – who played again a top game – but in that moment he missed the ball somehow. We could sort that. And that was obviously not good.

‘As I say, really good beginning and then lost rhythm and then we played too much around the formation than in the formation.

‘Should have had more direction, all these kinds of things, but you take what you get in these moments. I thought it was really mature and professional but we could have been better in a lot of moments, of course.’

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