Liverpool player warned after outburst from ‘disgusted’ fans

Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas has been warned by the Premier League club after he appeared to spit gum from Wembley’s Royal Box on Sunday, according to reports.

The Reds won the League Cup final 11-10 on penalties after their match against Chelsea finished 0-0 following 120 minutes of normal and extra time.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had been brought on as a substitute late on in extra time for the penalty shoot-out, blazed his spot-kick over the bar after failing to save any penalties.

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It was Jurgen Klopp’s first domestic trophy as Liverpool boss with the victory sparking jubilant celebrations in the Reds end and on the pitch.

The Liverpool players went up the stairs to the Royal Box to collect the trophy and celebrate their triumph after the match – but Tsimikas caused a backlash after he appeared to spit gum into the stands below.

And the Daily Mail claims that supporters watching on television at home were ‘disgusted’ and ‘appalled’ by his actions.

The Greece international didn’t play a minute of the final on Sunday with Liverpool regular Andy Robertson preferred at left-back.

Footage showed the Liverpool players lining up to collect their medals after their victory with Tsimikas leaning forward and spitting his gum off the balcony.

The Daily Mail adds that other angles of the incident suggest the defender had spat in an area where there was nobody underneath him.

Liverpool have insisted that Tsimikas ‘was getting rid of chewing gum, rather than spitting’.

The Daily Mail adds: ‘It has also been added that, while nobody was directly below Tsimikas following their own investigation, Liverpool have reminded the player, who is said to be apologetic about the incident, of his responsibilities following the reaction to the footage.’

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s League Cup final hero Caoimhin Kelleher admits he would rather have saved a penalty than scored one in their shoot-out win over Chelsea which secured a record ninth success in the competition.

Kelleher said: “Someone said to me afterwards, ‘You scored the winning penalty’ but I wasn’t really bothered about that.

“I was more bothered that I wanted to make a save but thank God anyway I scored and we got the win.

“I was dreaming good things (the night before), that we would win, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d score a penalty at the Liverpool end, the winning penalty. That’s just next level.”