Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has angrily accused Mikel Arteta of pressuring referee Michael Oliver into giving Arsenal favourable decisions during Sunday's clash between the two sides.
The Gunners claimed a statement win at the Emirates Stadium in what was a thrilling game between the Premier League giants. Oliver has faced some criticism for the decisions he made during the match though in the aftermath of Arsenal's celebrations.
The main bones of contention have been around the failure to award a penalty to leave for an apparent handball by Gabriel and the decision to point to the spot when Gabriel Jesus was fouled by Thiago. But Klopp was also enraged by Arteta's actions that led to Joe Gomez picking up a yellow-card for time-wasting.
"The situation around the penalty happens, I think everyone agrees we should’ve kicked that ball a bit earlier over the roof, we didn’t do that, the ball comes back, again, it’s very soft, if, if, if… but we can’t take that back," Klopp told Viaplay.
"First half we don’t get that back, that’s the handball from Gabriel, the ref tells us we can talk to him after the game, we can ask him what does he think and he will tell me this was no handball but this is a foul, that’s obviously not necessary this conversation.
"There were a couple of situations, let me say it like this, again, the result is the result, done. But Joe Gomez’s yellow card, a defender, a yellow card for this throw-in situation. In the first half I don’t know how often and how long Arsenal were looking for an option in a throw-in yet nothing happened, and I’m fine with that.
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"But Joey is there and Mikel is having a go at the ref and then he [Oliver] says, ‘okay, yellow card’ from a distance and you think, ‘yellow card, for that?’. So again, nothing to do with the result, just these situations, they don’t help but you’re right, they’re useless conversations [with the referee]."
Former Liverpool star John Barnes was also critical of Oliver's performance, insisting that the penalty Jesus won was soft. But Barnes also admitted that the Reds have been far from their best this season.
"I think it’s very soft, it’s a very soft penalty. Yes there is contact but contact doesn’t mean it’s a penalty. Thiago tries to control the ball, it goes wrong, when the ball goes out wide and comes to Gabriel Jesus," he told Sky Sports.
"He does get the ball and Thiago does kick him but I don’t think the kick is enough to go down. There is contact but him going down without being able to get a shot off or the kick making him go down, I think it’s a soft penalty.
"Of course they’ll be disappointed but it’s a better performance against a team that’s in good form and we’re not in good form. It’s going to be very difficult, I don’t think we’ve been playing well enough but we’re capable of finishing top four."
