Jurgen Klopp believes Gary Neville ‘had to apologise’ for wanting Hannibal Mejbri to kick his Liverpool players.
Neville admitted he ‘erred on the slightly unprofessional side of commentary’ in praising Mejbri during Manchester United’s defeat at Anfield on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old fouled Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita within minutes of coming on as a substitute in the 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Klopp’s side.
Klopp has welcomed Neville’s retraction
“He had to apologise for that, rightly so,” said the Liverpool manager.
“I understand where he is coming from, you want to see some aggression.
“But there is a difference between aggression and kicking players. That makes no sense.
“Aggression in football means you are ready to hurt yourself, not the other player. That is aggression in football.
“I don’t blame the kid, he came on late and the game was quick and obviously wanted to make an impression.
“He was a bit late here and a bit late there, all good. Aggression in football is fine but you cannot sort your own problems by hurting the opposition players.
“That is what I have never understood. I have played 325 professional football games and without aggression and physicality I would have played none.
“It was my only strength that I had, so I am completely fine with that, but it’s about staying respectful, that’s all.
“Things can happen in football, it is a high-speed game but not these kinds of things where you don’t care about the other (player).”
Ahead of Sunday’s 240th Merseyside derby, Klopp insists that his call for players to ‘stay respectful’ was not aimed at his Everton counterparts.
Last season’s meeting at Goodison Park saw Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara suffer lengthy injury issues following collisions in the game.
He said: “All of a sudden it will be like: ‘Klopp wants Everton to do this.’ No I don’t.
“We are ready for each kind of challenge, just keep it within the big frame of rules and everything will be fine.
“I really wish them the best and that they shall stay in the league, but it’s a normal game, both teams want three points; let’s see who gets it.”