YOU CAN’T MASK THIS OWN GOAL, BORIS Klopp fury at bungling PM’S virus tactics
EVERTON v LIVERPOOL
The Liverpool manager believes the Conservative Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic is the reason why the UK’S death toll from the disease is one of the highest in the world.
Klopp insists that Project Restart and the opportunity for him to deliver Liverpool’s first title for 30 years were nothing more than professional considerations for him during the three-month lockdown. He admits he was worried that the season would be declared null and void with his team 25 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
But the German’s frustration at watching Johnson’s inability to plot a safe path for the nation through the health crisis was compounded by the effective way politicians dealt with the virus in his homeland.
Klopp said: “I was not worried for one second that the Government could cost us the title because I was worried about the numbers who were dying – and I’m still worried. I didn’t vote for this Government. This Government was the choice of other people.
“And the problem I had was that I got the news from England and the news from Germany. If aliens looked at us both from the outside, they would think we came from two different planets.
“From a personal point of view, I don’t understand why we started wearing face masks in closed areas on June 15 when five or six weeks ago all the other countries were doing it. You can argue about whether it makes sense to wear them, but all countries who started wearing face masks earlier have better smaller casualty numbers than here in England. That’s the truth.”
And Klopp’s assessment rings true as the UK’S appalling death toll of over 42,000, which would easily fill over half of Liverpool’s Anfield stadium, compares to just under 9,000 lives lost in Germany – who have a population of around 16 million more people.
He added: “When I see the numbers here in England and then in Germany, I think... Look, it’s not perfect in Germany. People have died and people have been ill. But in terms of living your life it is completely different.”
PM Johnson infamously labelled Liverpool “self-pity city” when he was a magazine editor 16 years ago. And when it became clear that the virus pandemic would have dire financial implications for millions of people, Government ministers were quick to call on footballers to take pay-cuts.
Klopp described the game he loves as “the most important thing of the least important things” when football was suspended in March with Liverpool just six points away from clinching the title. And he has continued to insist that public health concerns must be at the front and centre of everyone’s thoughts.
But Klopp admitted: “There were moments when null and void came up – and I thought ‘wow’. That would have been really hard for me to take. I always thought we had to finish the season. I didn’t know when, but then I saw that other people felt the same as me – that for 500million reasons we had to finish this.
“None of those reasons were selfish. All of them were because of football and because of the circumstances we were in. There are lots of people in the same situation. Can you imagine if we stopped football and cricket and rugby tomorrow? Think of all the jobs that would be in danger.
“We had to have it back – and the truth is that the environment we have created inside the clubs now makes football safe. Outside the clubs? Yes, there are a few yards still to go.”
He added: “If you want to enter a shop in Germany, but don’t wear a face mask, then you aren’t allowed in.
“With a face mask you can go in all the shops you want. You can go to the hairdresser, wherever.
“They wear a face mask, you wear a face mask, and sometimes the people in the shop will wear even more protection like a screen.
“When I go to the petrol station here in England I am the only one wearing a face mask and I’m the only one with gloves – and I feel like an alien.
“I will not stop doing that until someone tells me it’s over.
“Inside the club we are safe. We are tested twice-a-week and it is a safe environment.”
And Klopp’s compassionate stance through the crisis, which has affected millions worldwide, has won him many admirers and plaudits.
Labour MP Rupa Huq said: “Klopp hits the back of the net with these remarks. Boris Johnson is a good time clown not a details man which is what we need.”
And in Liverpool the fans were quick to back their brilliant boss.
Joe Blott, chair of Liverpool supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly, added: “Ask anyone in this city and they’ll tell you they’d rather have Klopp running the country.”