One of the country's leading authorities on immigration has described as "absurd" allegations Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was being "borderline xenophobic" with his comments about Manchester City's spending power.
Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, an independent and non-partisan thinktank on issues such as integration and immigration, identity and race, has publicly defended Klopp as the fallout from Sunday's controversial Premier League meeting between the teams continues.
The game was marred by offensive chants by some City supporters referencing the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies, after which Liverpool issued a statement condemning the "vile" chants.
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City, though, have not publicly addressed the situation, with some reports alleging sources from City suggested the Liverpool manager was partly responsible by inflaming already heightened tensions between the clubs with "borderline xenophobic" pre-match comments the Reds cannot compete with the wealth of the Etihad club.
City have been majority owned by Abu Dhabi United Group - owned by United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister and multi-billionaire Sheikh Mansour - since 2008.
Speaking on Tuesday, Klopp comprehensively dismissed any suggestion he is xenophobic. Liverpool have since taken legal steps against a number of publications, including The Times, over the claims.
And Mr Katwala has publicly declared his support of Klopp on social media. "It is absurd...to call Jurgen Klopp's comments 'borderline xenophonic'," he tweeted. "These comments are certainly not xenophonic."
When asked about how Liverpool could compete with City during Friday's pre-match media conference at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby, Klopp had responded: "Oh, you won’t like the answer. You will not like the answer, and you (the journalists) all have the answer already. 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've asked the question but you know the answer.
"What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It is not possible. Not possible. It is just clear and again you know the answer. There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially. It's legal and everything, fine. But they can do what they want."
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