Burnley manager Vincent Kompany has partly blamed Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for his touchline ban in their upcoming match against Arsenal. He believes he was given a yellow card during Burnley’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool because Klopp had already upset the referee, Tim Robinson.
The match saw Dara O’Shea’s header equalise Diogo Jota’s goal for Liverpool before Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez scored in the second half, putting Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Kompany thinks that the referee was eager to give him a yellow card to even things out after cautioning Klopp. This is the third time Kompany has been booked this season, which means he will be banned from the touchline when Burnley play Arsenal next Saturday.
Kompany said: “I think I got booked because I should have paid attention to the fact that Jurgen Klopp got booked because then all I think the referee did was just went looking for me.”
He added: “I opened my arms out which I have done exactly that in many games. Then all of a sudden the card comes out. Out of nothing. Now I am suspended for the next game. I should have known it was just a way to balance it out and it doesn’t make sense, but hey, we have to keep going. No sulking.”
Klopp shared his thoughts on getting a yellow card, saying: “It was emotional, definitely. Imagine in this game and the referee has a blue card available? It would have been the wild west. There were so many yellow cards today.”
“I had no clue why Vincent Kompany got it. I lost it in that situation so fine, give me a yellow card. As long as I don’t get a blue one and have to sit somewhere for 10 minutes!”
Kompany, despite the defeat, praised his team’s effort: “It was as good as a performance as you need to have a chance of getting a result somewhere like Anfield. There were lots of positives. We will always feel disappointed about the result but the message to the team is we keep growing. Every day of the week we need to continue with that belief.
“It wasn’t just those two chances. In the first half we had many moments where we broke and could have finished with one-on-one so it’s the final ball and final details. They have good players too. You need a little something going your way and there was not enough of that today for us to get a result.
“I understand from Liverpool’s perspective, they are always awkward games. There is an expectation from fans to see those games off early and to have a little bit of a quiet afternoon but that’s something we can benefit from. I’ve been on the other side many times and know how awkward these things can be. We made it difficult and these types of performances can’t remain unrewarded in the future.”
