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Klopp says Salah has the marks...

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Klopp says Salah has the marks to prove Egyptian was fouled v West Ham


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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has defended Mo Salah from accusations of diving. 

The Egyptian won a penalty three-minutes before half-time to level their Premier League game at home to West Ham.

Salah was challenged by Arthur Masuaku with some accusing him of going down too easily.

Liverpool went on to win the game 2-1 courtesy of a late goal from Diogo Jota.

"It’s not the sort of football I want to be involved in," Hammers manager told Match of the Day on Saturday.

"I think our player stops and throws his arms up because he’s so disappointed about the dive.

Headline for Tony Cascarino's controversial Times column on Mo Salah

"I’m just disappointed they didn’t turn the decision around.

"Maybe in the second half a decision went for us, but the first-half one didn’t.

“I am amazed the penalty kick was given for the action in the first half. I really am. I am getting disappointed now.

"Not with the decision but more disappointed that we are allowing those penalty kicks to be accepted.

"In my books, it is not a penalty."

In his column for The Times, former Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino went even further. He used the recent death of Nobby Stiles to make his point about perceived diving.

Clearly the criticism hasn't sat well with Salah's manager, Klopp.

"What can I say? It was a foul, for pretty much everybody who saw the situation," he told his pre-Atalanta press conference.

"Believe it or not, yesterday morning I spoke to Mo about how he feels, and he has exactly three proper knocks on the foot - and one of them is from the penalty situation.

"That's how it is. He has a knock. You go down or not, whatever, sometimes the refs whistle it.

"We don't talk that long about penalties we don't get, to be honest, in other games.

"Now two days later we are still talking about this penalty. There was clear contact. I don't understand the criticism."


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Jurgen Klopp Klopp Liverpool Mo Salah Salah West Ham West Ham United

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