Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp calls for the Chelsea fans responsible for the racist abuse of Mohamed Salah to be banned forever.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is calling for anyone who is caught being racist to be banned from football for life after a video of Chelsea fans singing racist abuse towards Mohamed Salah emerged this week.
The Reds face The Blues this weekend at Anfield in a crucial clash as Liverpool chase the Premier League title. Klopp was asked about the vile chant by Chelsea fans and was unequivocal in his response:
“It’s disgusting… It’s another sign that something is going wrong… The stronger the reaction, the more it will help.”
His suggestion is life time bans for the perpetrators:
“If you do something like that, you should not be allowed to enter a stadium again, in my view, for life.”
Klopp's here for his pre-Chelsea press conference.
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) April 12, 2019
On Salah abuse: "It's disgusting. We should not see it as a Chelsea or a Liverpool thing. It's another sign that something is going wrong a little bit outside. The stronger the reaction, the more it will help." #LFC
Klopp: "If you do something like that, you should not be allowed to enter a stadium again, in my view, for life. It's a complete misunderstanding of how life should be. People think they are more valuable than others - the biggest misunderstanding in the world." #LFC
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) April 12, 2019
It is also important to note that we do not think of it as exclusively a ‘Chelsea thing’. Obviously that club has a long history of racism and many of us associate them with the worst of football fan culture.
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But Klopp’s is also leading us to not be partisan. If Liverpool fans do the same, or similar, they should face the same consequences. Absolutely, Jurgen.
The club released an official statement on the matter yesterday:
“The video circulating online, showing vile discriminatory chants being aimed at one of our players, is dangerous and disturbing.
There is no place for this behavior in football, there is no place for it in society. A crime of this nature has more victims than any individual it is aimed at and, as such, collective and decisive action is needed to address it.
As pertains to this latest incident, the club is working with Merseyside Police to ascertain the facts around this footage with the aim of identifying individuals featuring in it.”
It seems clear that the club and Merseyside Police are working hard to deny any fans in the video access to the away end at Anfield on Sunday.
The Liverpool v Chelsea clash kicks off at 4:30pm BST/ 11:30am EST. Make sure you come back to RushTheKop on Sunday to find out how to stream the game for free.