Klopp fumes after Coutinho ‘friendly’ treatment

Michael Graham

Jurgen Klopp was left fuming with the performance of referee Bobby Madley despite Liverpool’s 2-1 friendly win over Leicester City.

The Reds won the Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong with a good performance, but it was a perceived lack of protection for star-man Philippe Coutinho that dominated the post-match discussion.

“Even in the pre-season and even though it’s a Premier League tournament, we should talk about this,” Klopp told reporters.

“I was not too happy about two decisions around Phil Coutinho, 100%.

“He (Madley) told me that if I behave like I behaved today then I would have to go in the stands. I said: ‘If I behave like today then I go in the stand, no problem. But you have to change how you whistle’.

“What can I do? Write a letter? ‘By the way, that’s a foul so next time can you whistle?’

“It’s a difficult game to whistle for refs, I know all this. But these things are obvious for me and that’s why I thought it would be nice if he could help the players a little bit more.

“These players make the difference and these players bring people into the stadium. That’s why we have to look after them a little bit.”