Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp open legal claim against Manchester City owners over allegations of xenophobia

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Jurgen Klopp has refuted any allegations of xenophobia against Manchester City before their Premier League meeting last weekend.

Liverpool officials have issued Manchester City and its owners with a legal claim after boss Jurgen Klopp was accused of xenophobia. Allegations relate to comments made by Klopp before both sides met in the Premier League last weekend.

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Klopp oversaw his Liverpool side’s dramatic 1-0 victory against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday (October 16). Egyptian star Mohammed Salah scored the decisive goal in the 76th minute.

However, before a ball was even kicked the 55-year-old manager was asked about the spending power of Europe’s elite clubs at his pre-match press conference. Klopp insisted that only Man City, Newcastle and French side Paris Saint Germain, all run by Gulf-state firms, had the financial capability and freedom to spend what they wanted to.

City’s owners believe these comments fueled tensions between both clubs ahead of their highly-anticipated meeting at the weekend. There were a number of incidents before, during and after the match, such as Man City’s manager Pep Guardiola having coins thrown at him by fans inside Anfield and Jurgen Klopp’s dismissal by the on-field referee Anthony Taylor.

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Not only that, but offensive songs about the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters were chanted by a minority of visiting fans. While Merseyside Police received reports of criminal damage to Manchester City’s team coach.

It is understood that the Manchester City owners felt Klopp’s comments during his pre-match conference were “borderline xenophobic”. In reaction to the allegations, the Merseyside club has opened legal proceedings against the Mancunian outfit..

What has Jurgen Klopp said about Manchester City’s xenophobia allegations?

Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp has since reacted to the xenophobic allegations made by Manchester City. The German has strongly refuted the allegations: “I don’t feel, in this specific case, I don’t feel it at all.

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“I know myself and you cannot hit with something which is miles away from my personality. If I was - I cannot remember the word - like this I would hate it. I would hate myself for being like this.”

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

He continued: “I have said a lot of times things that were a little open to misunderstanding , I know that. It was not intentional, just sometimes you say things and you think ‘Oh my god, it can be interpreted like this?’  but this is not one of these moments. Absolutely!”.

According to reports from The Athletic, Liverpool is working with Jurgen Klopp to open a legal claim against Manchester City following the allegations. No response has been issued by the Manchester club at the time of publication.

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