‘WE DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT’
■ KLOPP SLAMS LIVERPOOL FANS FOR HOMOPHOBIC SONG ■ MEE ANGERED BY BOOING OF ANTI-RACISM GESTURE
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp and Burnley captain Ben Mee have criticised their own fans after homophobic chanting and booing of anti-racist gestures blighted the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Klopp labelled Liverpool supporters who aimed chants of ‘Chelsea rent boy’ at Norwich’s Billy Gilmour ‘idiots’ after the on-loan Blues midfielder was targeted in Saturday’s 3-0 victory at Carrow Road.
The Anfield club were quick to condemn the chanting as ‘offensive and inappropriate’ after the game and Klopp (left) sat down with Paul Amann, the founder of Liverpool LGBT+ fans group Kop Outs, yesterday to express his dismay.
He said: ‘I never understand why you would sing a song if it was against something in a football stadium. I never got that. I never liked it.
‘In our case we have probably the best songbook in the world. It’s easy to decide not to sing the song anymore. So, we can decide now, this is not our song anymore, so I’m not sure if people listen to me but it would be nice.
‘I don’t want to hear it any more, for so many reasons. I’m 54 now and when I was 20 we said so many things which we didn’t think about. And meanwhile, thank God 34 years later we learned it’s just not right to say.’
Meanwhile, Burnley skipper Mee said it was ‘disappointing’ some of his club’s supporters booed as his side and Brighton’s players took the knee before the 2-1 weekend defeat by Albion at Turf Moor.
Applause eventually drowned out the jeering and players from all 20 Premier League clubs have said they will continue to take the knee this season.
Ahead of his team’s visit to Anfield tomorrow, Mee (right) said: ‘[It was] disappointing to hear the booing. There was a lot of applause as well after it, which was good to hear.
‘I don’t know how many times we need to reiterate as players the reasons why we’re continuing to take the knee.
‘It gets to the point where if you’re booing, it doesn’t look good on those individuals booing. Disappointed, but there was a lot of positive there as well.’