The people of Liverpool were the subject of some awful chanting from the away wing during the Reds’ 1-0 win over Manchester City at the weekend.
The Sky Blues turned down the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Reds by denouncing the damaging behavior of several of their fans, accusing Jurgen Klopp of making ‘borderline xenophobic’ comments, The Times reported.
Rory Smith and Tariq Panja of the New York Times condemned the club’s actions on Twitter with the latter describing it as “a dangerous road ahead”.
To be clear: if an opposition football manager says something you don’t like about your team, you can now say or sing whatever you want, and the media will seemingly present this logic uncontested.
— Rory Smith (@RorySmith) October 17, 2022
Suggesting in a background briefing that something is xenophobic in order to cool down a critic is a dangerous path. It hurts to discuss and denounce real xenophobia. If the sentiment is so strong, why launch such an incendiary accusation anonymously?
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) October 17, 2022
It is difficult to understand the behavior of the current champion given that the comments of the former Borussia Dortmund boss criticized the financial flexibility offered to three of the best teams in the world.
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An attempt to turn the conversation into murky waters will no doubt have angered Anfield bosses, and rightly so.
There is absolutely no excuse for Manchester City’s decision-making here and we hope that the negative reaction will inspire a more fitting response to the terrible behavior on display over the weekend.
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