Jurgen Klopp has complained that Simon Hooper’s refereeing against Tottenham was the “dishonest” he has seen in his career.
The Reds were cruelly robbed of a vital point when Joel Matip turned a late cross into his own goal to give the hosts a 2-1 win.
It came at the end of a controversial game in which both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were shown red cards as Liverpool were forced to try and play with nine men.
Klopp was understandably furious with Hooper after the final whistle, criticizing his side’s “crazy decisions” at the wrong end.
– I have never been more proud of the team than today. I have never seen a game like this with the most unfair circumstances and the craziest decisions,” said the boss after the game.
– We scored an own goal, it’s really hard to do, but I’m very proud. First red card, Curtis steps on the ball and goes over. Not a bad jacket.
“It looks different in slow motion. He steps on the ball at full speed and goes over the ball. It’s bad luck.”
Defeat leaves the Reds two points behind Man City and a win would have lifted them above the league leaders, who themselves lost at Wolves on the same day.
The first of Jota’s two yellow cards came when he allegedly fouled Destiny Udogie after coming off the bench, but replays showed the left-back had in fact tripped.
Klopp insisted his striker should have stayed on the pitch, but praised his players’ strong “mentality” following the incident.
“[Which] first yellow was not yellow. Then he gets one more and defending with eight wingers is difficult,” he continued.
“You want to build something you need players with a mindset and I saw them today, they fought. Pretty special tonight.”
“It’s so hard to deal with.”
