Jurgen Klopp apologizes for sideline outburst, says ref told him he 'liked his passion'

Published Feb. 1, 2017 4:24 p.m. ET

Aaron West

Liverpool and Chelsea played out a heated 1-1 draw on Tuesday, and Jurgen Klopp his was vintage animated self on the sideline during the game. He's become famous for his remonstrations, gesticulations and just for being a wild dude in general, but he says he got a little out of pocket this time.

Liverpool gave away a penalty kick that Simon Mignolet saved, and following the spot kick, Klopp went bananas, going face-to-face with fourth official Neil Swarbrick in full view of everyone watching. The fourth official didn't seem too upset about it, but Klopp says it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked from the outside.

“I turned to him [Swarbrick] and said: ‘Nobody can beat us.’ Obviously that is absolutely not true but that’s what I said in this moment.

“I went back to the fourth official and said: ‘Sorry – you are the wrong person to speak to.’ He said: ‘No problem, I like your passion.’ I have never heard that from an official before. That was cool.”

Klopp definitely got away with one there, and it's probably because he has a reputation for being passionate, but fair. He's a good-natured guy, and (so far) has owned up to all of his foibles. Refs are people too, and because Klopp seems to try to do the right thing in most situations, a little over-the-top screaming didn't really seem to faze Swarbrick.

Klopp might not get away with the next one so easily, though.