Klopp puts the boot in over Fair Play probe
JURGEN KLOPP believes UEFA should hand out punishments if any club is found guilty of breaking the rules of Financial Fair Play.
At the end of a week that has seen a flurry of allegations levelled at Manchester City in the German media, Liverpool’s manager insisted he had not read the intricacies of the accusations and would not speak specifically about the Premier League champions.
Klopp is an advocate of FFP, as are Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group. He insists that if such guidelines have been broken, it is up to football’s authorities to take the appropriate measure and pursue actions against those who are in the wrong.
‘I heard about the Der Spiegel story but I didn’t read it so far,’ said Klopp. ‘It is difficult to comment but what I can say, in general, is that FFP is a really good thing. But we always thought that — if it is in place, they have to do something with it. I have no clue what happens (now).
‘I know (the story) is about Paris Saint-Germain obviously and Man City. I’m not sure if other clubs are being talked about as well. That’s all I can say. I think FFP is a good thing because it sets the rules and stuff like that. If everything is fine, then everything is fine.
‘If not, then somebody should do something. That’s all I can say but I have no clue about the real story.’ Asked whether he felt Liverpool were competing on a level playing field with City, Klopp replied: ‘That is not important. We have better circumstances than other clubs. We have much better circumstances than Huddersfield, but they don’t blame us and say we have to find a rule to have the same situation. It’s not like that.’
This has been a wearying week for City and when quizzed on the subject again yesterday, manager Pep Guardiola said: ‘If you want to undermine what we’ve done then no problem. We live our lives. If something is wrong then we’ll be punished. If we’re wrong then we’ll accept it. I hear what my club said to me and I trust them.’
Klopp, meanwhile, has claimed that Liverpool’s season will be viewed as failure if they do not beat City to the title. Liverpool have taken 27 points from 33, but they sit third and a big challenge for the manager is preventing his players from getting disheartened. Klopp’s team face bottom-of-thetable Fulham at home tomorrow.
‘We have a situation where a lot of things are better than last year,’ said Klopp. ‘It feels like this season can only be a success if we become champions, when our competitors are the champion of last year and the champion of two years ago.’