Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp scolded Sergio Ramos for injuring Mohamed Salah in the Champions League final – and the referee for his inaction.
Ramos left Salah with a dislocated shoulder and goalkeeper Loris Karius with a concussion in Kyiv. Karius, who proceeded to make two calamitous errors, eventually required medical assistance in the United States.
The controversial center-back pleaded innocence in the days and months after Real Madrid’s 3-1 win, but again faced criticism Friday.
“We are opening that bottle again? It is action-reaction-action-reaction and I don’t like that but – if you watch it back and you are not with Real Madrid – then you think it is ruthless and brutal,” Klopp told reporters, per Reuters. “I saw the ref taking charge of big games at the World Cup and nobody really thinks about that later. But in a situation like that somebody needs to judge it better.
“If VAR is coming then it is a situation where you have to look again. Not to give a red card but to look and say, ‘What is that?’ It was ruthless.”
Klopp – who was asked about the incident Saturday before an International Champions Cup exhibition against Manchester United – emphasized that he wasn’t trying to make excuses for the defeat.
But he made no qualms about Ramos using dirty tricks to influence the outcome.
“I’m not sure it is an experience we will have again – go there and put an elbow to the goalkeeper, put their goalscorer down like a wrestler in midfield and then you win the game,” Klopp added. “That was the story of the game.”
