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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Victor

Jurgen Klopp vs The FA: Why Liverpool boss saw red vs Man City and what happens next

A heated Premier League meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday went the way of the Merseyside club, but Jurgen Klopp found his way into the bad books of referee Anthony Taylor.

Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game, as Klopp's side dealt City their first league defeat of the season. However, it was an incident involving Salah and Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva which caused a late flashpoint at Anfield.

Klopp was shown a red card by referee Taylor, and the FA have since confirmed that the manager has been hit with a charge. Here, Mirror Football looks at the events which played out at Anfield, why they happened and examines what may well come next.

What happened

Towards the end of a game in which referee Taylor had let a lot of things go - for both sides - a tussle between Salah and Silva saw the Egyptian go to ground. No free-kick was awarded Liverpool's way, and Klopp, whose side were winning 1-0 - was far from happy.

Salah himself had yelled in the direction of the officials after being dragged to the turf, and he wasn't the only one. Former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp wandered in the direction of the referee's assistant, throwing his arms in the air, before getting up close to the official and shouting angrily.

"It all comes from that challenge on the corner from Silva on Salah, he just grabs him - how is that not a foul?" co-commentator Gary Neville asked. "The assistant referee is in front of it. Jurgen Klopp charges down the touchline, there you go, that's the red card."

Liverpool's manager was sent off after an incident involving Mohamed Salah and Bernardo Silva (REUTERS)
Jurgen Klopp has been hit with an FA charge (REUTERS)

What did Anthony Taylor do?

Taylor pulled out the red card and gave Klopp his marching orders. In truth, he had little choice.

But there were a number of decisions during the game which attracted attention, with those on both sides of the battle taking issue with some of his calls. City had a goal of their own disallowed, with Phil Foden's effort chalked off after a VAR check found a foul in the build-up. The decision upset visiting boss Pep Guardiola, who hit out at it after the game.

"The ref can decide: ‘I’m going to whistle all the actions,’ but he decided not to do it and then after he did it," the Catalan manager said. "When we scored a goal it was not play on. This is the reality."

One man who was more impressed by Taylor's officiating, however, was former Premier League referee Mike Dean.

"He let the game flow by waving away the soft fouls and penalising the ones that clearly overstepped the mark," Dean wrote in his Mail Online column. "It was the same for both Liverpool and Manchester City and it made for the physical battle we like to see in the Premier League."

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola both had things to say about Anthony Taylor's decisions (REUTERS)

What happened after the game

Firstly, Klopp did his media duties, speaking to broadcasters and undertaking his post-match press conference.

"I explained after the game, in this moment you could not bring me in this mood. No chance,” Klopp said. “But the whole game led to that maybe a little bit. The way it went, the way it was a very, very intense game with a lot of decisions which both managers didn't understand on both sides.

"For me it was like, I don't know, in Germany we say, 'the one drop that made the bucket overflow.' I'm not happy with my reaction but that's the way it was and everybody saw it.”

The manager also revealed to speaking with referee Taylor after the game in the referees' room.

"I was sitting after the game in the office of Anthony Taylor and spoke, completely calmly, about all the situations," he explained. “How I saw the game, how he saw the game. It was a completely calm discussion. That's the situation. I got a red card and now we wait for the process."

What have the FA said?

“Jurgen Klopp has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 following the Premier League game between Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday,” a statement from the FA reads. “It is alleged that the Liverpool manager’s behaviour during the 86th minute of this game was improper and he has until Friday to provide a response.”

Liverpool are due to take on West Ham United in the Premier League on Wednesday night. As Klopp decides whether or not to appeal the ruling, he will be permitted to return to the dugout for the visit of David Moyes' side.

"I hope he is in the opposite [dugout] because part of this job is you want to go and play against the best and you want to compete against them and Jurgen is up there with them all for what he has done with Liverpool over the years," Moyes said before the charge for Klopp was confirmed.

"His actions are part of it and he was really heated but if you were in that position on Sunday you would probably do the same. But we've all got great respect for referees and the work they have to do. I hope, in their way, they will understand that for 90 minutes or a bit longer we can sometimes lose our heads here and there a little bit.”

Will Klopp be banned? (PA)

What comes next?

Kop boss Klopp must decide whether to accept the FA's charge or to appeal.

Should he accept, he is likely to face a fine, but could potentially be handed a touchline ban should the governing body see fit.

If he accepts and is handed a ban - provided it's not suspended - then he would miss the weekend fixture with Nottingham Forest.

If he appeals and it drags on until next week, then he'd be fine for that game, but a ban would see him missing from the Anfield touchline for the game with Leeds on October 29.

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