Jurgen Klopp on Raheem Sterling: “His reaction was just brilliant”

Jurgen Klopp has come out in support of Raheem Sterling today, stating that those found guilt of racism don’t deserve “any respect.”

Former Red Sterling appeared to be on the receiving end of racial abuse from fans as he went to retrieve the ball for a corner in Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Sterling took to Instagram later that day, saying he “had to laugh” and expected “no better” in the situation. He also stated that newspapers in the UK only make matters worse by fuelling racism through the way they portray younger black footballers.

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Raheem Sterling in action for Manchester City against Chelsea on Saturday 8th December 2018 (Getty).

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Klopp joined a host of other voices expressing their support for Sterling, with the Liverpool manager claiming the attacker’s reaction was “brilliant” during the game.

“Well, I watched the game obviously and I saw the situation when Raheem went for the corner,” the Klopp said, as quoted in The Independent. “I saw a few guys shouting. I don’t think it was possible to hear what they were shouting, I didn’t hear it.

“I already thought his reaction was just brilliant. You saw his face. He gave the right response – not to react to these people. They haven’t earned any reaction, they don’t deserve any respect or whatever.

“I’m obviously not surprised that things like this still happen. It will not stop now only because we talk about it, but I like the fact that we put a finger on it. You cannot say what you want, it’s not possible.”

Klopp went on to refer to Kevin-Prince Boateng walking off the pitch during a match between Milan and Pro Patria in 2013 after suffering racist abuse.

“We’ve had a similar situation in Germany, in other countries as well,” explained Klopp.

“In Italy, with Boateng stopped the game because of what people shouted from the stands. They need to be punished. As long as people are silly enough to do stuff like this they need to be punished.

“What I like is that – I’m not sure but 95 per cent or more of the people are not like this, so we should try to find the right amount of tension. Yes, punish them but don’t talk too much about them because they don’t deserve to be talked about.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com