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Manchester City claim Jurgen Klopp’s observations ahead of their clash with Liverpool on Sunday were ‘borderline xenophobic’.
On the eve of the game at Anfield, Klopp claimed nobody can compete with state-owned clubs like City.
Asked how Liverpool could keep pace with City, Klopp said: “You will not like the answer. Nobody can compete with City in that. You have the best team in the world and you put in the best striker on the market.
“No matter what it costs, you just do it. I know City will not like it. Nobody will like it. You have asked the question but you know the answer.
“What do Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It is not possible. There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially. It’s legal and everything is fine.”
And the City bosses believe Klopp’s ‘irresponsible’ words stirred up bad feeling between the two clubs ahead of the bad-tempered game.
City alleged that their team bus was targeted by the Reds fans, Pep Guardiola had coins thrown at him, while charity Ref Support UK have called for a probe into touchline behaviour following Klopp’s red card.
Liverpool were also furious about ‘vile’ chants from the City fans referencing the Hillsborough disaster.
And none of this would have happened without Klopp’s ‘borderline xenophobic’ comments, apparently.
The Sun report: ‘The champions felt Klopp’s pre-match comments about his team being unable to compete with oil-rich clubs added an unnecessary extra tension to an already highly-charged fixture.’
Sources indicate that the issues at Anfield will be dealt with by Merseyside Police, who issued a statement last night.
It read: “We can confirm we are working closely with Liverpool and Manchester City to understand a number of reported incidents which took place at the match at Anfield.
“We have been made aware that offensive and disorderly behaviour has taken place during the game, including allegations of coin-throwing and offensive graffiti sprayed in the away section.
“We have also been made aware of an allegation that a Manchester City team coach was damaged.”