Klopp claims referee was ‘not up to the level of the game’.
Jurgen Klopp appeared not to shake the hand of referee Chris Kavanagh after Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. The Liverpool boss cut a frustrated figure on numerous occasions during the 120 minutes of football that was played between the two sides, with several decisions going against his team.
Virgil van Dijk rose highest in the 118th minute of the encounter to score the game’s only goal and hand the Reds the trophy. There may have been no need for the extra 30 minutes had refereeing calls gone another way, as the Dutch centre-back had earlier put the ball in the net after an hour of play.
Wataru Endo was judged to have been offside and blocking Levi Colwill from defending the set-piece that was delivered by Andy Robertson, and the goal was subsequently chalked off. It was a highly contentious decision as the Japanese midfielder didn’t appear to do much other than stand his ground.
The other controversial decision came in the first half when an already depleted Liverpool team lost Ryan Gravenberch to injury. The former Bayern Munich man was stretchered off the field following a poorly timed tackle by Moises Caicedo, although no free-kick was awarded.
In the aftermath of the game, Klopp’s frustration quickly turned to joy and jubilation. His young Reds had led the team to the trophy through all the struggles of losing key players to injury over the past few weeks. Per The Guardian, the 55-year-old said: “From time to time you need something to really celebrate. Come on, this was so special. You saw the game, you saw the circumstances, we had problems before the game, they became bigger during the game.”
The reference to issues becoming bigger during the game points towards the injury suffered by Gravenberch, and Klopp wasn’t shy about giving his thoughts on the officiating on the day:
“We had a ref who was not up to the level of the game, that didn’t help one team or the other, it was just: ‘What did he see? What is that?’ There was no common sense again, for refs it’s something I’m not sure they teach or ask for it, it’s just not there.”
These frustrations are likely to have led to his apparent refusal to shake the hand of the referee shortly after the full-time whistle. While the camera angle doesn’t make it 100 per cent clear whether he ignored Kavanagh, this is the suggestion, with The Guardian pointing out that Klopp was ‘incensed’ with the match official’s perfomance and ‘appeared to ignore his offer of a handshake’ after the game. Watch the footage below:
The Carabao Cup triumph marked the first trophy of Van Dijk’s reign as Liverpool’s club captain, and the imperious defender will be hoping to lift more silverware before the campaign ends. It was announced in January that the 2023/24 campaign would be Klopp’s last in the Anfield dugout and the players look determined to give the boss a fitting farewell.
Southampton in the FA Cup is the next hurdle for the injury-plagued squad to attempt to navigate before huge Premier League games against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. The Reds are also still active in continental competition as they are set to face Slavia Prague in the next round of the Europa League.