Liverpool manager and fiery ball of fun and hugs Jurgen Klopp has been charged by the Football Association for running onto the field and hugging Alisson Becker after the Reds plucked a late winner off the cross bar (literally) in Sunday’s Merseyside Derby.
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Klopp is likely to face a fine and a stiff warning against repeating such antics (which he’ll just do on the sideline. Come on, it’s Klopp).
The manager apologized to Everton boss Marco Silva for his actions directly after the game -- the Toffees boss later said, “If we scored that goal and had been so lucky I might have done the same” -- and has been backed by Premier League peer Pep Guardiola.
Useless vexation aside, there is a reason managers are confined to their boxes and also extenuating circumstances for them to leave said box. Mauricio Pochettino going to break up the North London Derby sideline skirmish and Klopp hugging Becker are two different instinctive actions. We’d suggest they be treated as such.
That said, if this serves to keep Klopp in his shoes at a similar occasion in an away match, well, that’s good news. Such a reaction could be truly incendiary at Goodison Park.