Jurgen Klopp has been charged by the Football Association for his criticism of Paul Tierney.
Klopp alleged the Greater Manchester referee spoke inappropriately to him after imposing a yellow card during Liverpool’s late win over Tottenham.
Those claims were rejected by the refereeing body PGMOL, who claimed Tierney had ‘acted in a professional manner throughout’ Sunday’s match.
But the FA confirmed Klopp will now face a charge of improper conduct with comments which ‘imply bias, and/or question the integrity of the referee, and/or are personal/offensive, and/or bring the game into disrepute’
Earlier on Tuesday, the Reds manager attempted to defuse the furore by revealing the match official had actually been dissuaded from sending him off.
“The whole situation shouldn’t have happened,” said Klopp.
“I didn’t say anything wrong [to fourth official John Brooks]. I was shouting: ‘Without you, without you’. It didn’t make a lot of sense but that was all.
“Paul Tierney came over to me and I didn’t expect at all a red card because I didn’t feel it was right. I expected a yellow card and he said to me: ‘For me it’s a red card but because of him’.
“That’s what I understood because it was loud in the stadium – ‘it’s yellow’. Showed me a yellow and smiled to my face. That’s it.
“The things which were made of what Paul Tierney said to me, I didn’t say. I said: ‘What he said to me was not OK’ and I thought it was not OK because it was not a red card in my view.
“I understand I opened the box. The rest was how I felt in that moment about Paul Tierney reffing our games. I am very sure he is not doing it intentionally but we have a history and I cannot deny that.
“Of course things didn’t happen intentionally but they are still there and it’s a feeling. I know the refs were really angry about what I said and now go for it. I heard I was lying.
“I did a lot of things that day but I didn’t lie.”