- Mark Clattenburg refereed in the Premier League for more than ten years
- He wrote in his book about several tense conversations with Jurgen Klopp
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Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg once branded Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp a ‘strange guy’ after claiming he tried to intimidate him before a match.
Clattenburg played in the Premier League from 2004 to 2017 before leaving to take an opportunity in Saudi Arabia.
Klopp is one of the most popular managers in world football, but Clattenburg painted a different picture of the German behind the scenes.
Clattenburg wrote in his book The Whistle Blower: ‘Klopp was never good at losing. When he won he was happy, he was a lot of fun.
‘If things didn’t go his way, he became irritable. My last game with Klopp was against Chelsea at Anfield in January 2017.
Mark Clattenburg (left) once labeled Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (right) a ‘strange guy’
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‘Managers rarely came into my dressing room an hour before kick-off to exchange team sheets.
“On this occasion, Klopp came in with Jordan Henderson. It was bizarre, he stood there and stared at me for about 30 seconds.
“I just stared back at him. I could tell Jordan was kind of thinking, “What the hell is going on?” Did Klopp think I was stupid? I didn’t want to be bullied by him. He left and all I thought was, ‘What a strange guy.’
Clattenburg also wrote about another tense exchange with Klopp after a Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in the 2013/14 season (which Madrid won 3-0).
‘After the match I came out of my dressing room and Real defender Marcelo and his wife asked for a photo.
“It was a private photo on their phone, so I said yes, no problem,” Clattenburg explained.
Clattenburg played in the Premier League from 2004 to 2017 before moving abroad
“Klopp walked past just as the photo was taken, ‘Oh, so that’s why we got beat, right? he said. He wasn’t humorous or friendly, he was sarky.
“You’re lucky you only got beat 3-0,” I said. The fact that we were in Madrid probably gave me a bit of bravado to answer back. It annoyed me when managers couldn’t be kind in defeat.’