Liverpool: Mohamed Salah ‘out of order’ in Jurgen Klopp clash
Image source, Getty Images
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said Mohamed Salah was “off duty” due to his argument with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on the touchline during the 2-2 draw with West Ham United on Saturday.
Salah has been dropped For the sake of the game He clashed with Klopp as he prepared to come on as a substitute in the 79th minute.
With this draw, Liverpool, which was eliminated from the Europa League, is five points behind Arsenal, leaders of the English Premier League.
Sutton felt the incident did not reflect well on the 31-year-old, who is the Reds’ top scorer this season with 24 goals but has not been at his best in recent matches.
“I didn’t like it but I think Mohamed Salah was the one who was out of order,” Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club programme.
“He is no different to any of his Liverpool team-mates and the truth is that his form has not been good since returning from injury.
“This is nothing against Salah and the great player he was at Liverpool. He was exceptional but I think there is a line and unfortunately he crossed it.”
But Sutton believes Klopp was entitled to choose the starting lineup he felt gave Liverpool the best chance of victory.
“You can’t live in the past,” Sutton added.
“He is here and now and Klopp decided to exclude him. This is his prerogative. He is the coach and Salah is no different from the rest of his teammates.”
Salah appeared frustrated by something Klopp said to him as he was about to be brought on, and appeared to want to prolong the altercation before teammates Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez shepherded him away.
After that, Salah declined interview requests, saying: “The fire will catch on today if I speak.”
Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman also felt that the incident did not reflect well on the Egyptian striker.
“If you act like this, you are showing disrespect to your teammates and also to the manager by saying, ‘I should definitely play in front of them,’” Osman said.
“Yes, he was their best player, but you’re all part of the team, and you all take turns most of the time, and you shake hands when you walk off the field because you have the same goal of trying to win football games.
“It’s a sad end to the race they had and the relationship they had.”
