The topic of whether Manchester United has received fewer penalties since Jurgen Klopp’s comments about their penalty count is intriguing. It touches on the dynamics of football, the influence of managers, and the potential impact of public statements on refereeing decisions. This article discusses what the then-Liverpool manager said and whether the statement affected Manchester United’s penalty statistics in any way.
🗣"Manchester United had more penalties in two years than me in five and a half years, but [we have] no excuses for tonight"
Jurgen Klopp was not happy with Liverpool not being awarded a penalty in their 1-0 loss and drew comparisons with the amount Manchester United get pic.twitter.com/mO4CFTqOAw
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 4, 2021
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool FC, made headlines in January 2021 when he said that Manchester United had been awarded more penalties than his team. Klopp’s comments came after a match where Liverpool felt they were denied a clear penalty. He remarked:
“I hear now that Manchester United had more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years.”
This statement sparked a debate about whether referees were favouring Manchester United or if there was any bias in their decisions. To analyse whether Manchester United has received fewer penalties since Klopp’s comments, we need to look at the penalty statistics before and after January 2021.
Credit: Football365
Manchester United received the most penalties in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons of the Premier League. They received 12 penalties in the 2018/19 season (Liverpool received seven penalties) and 14 penalties in the 2019/20 season (Liverpool received five penalties). This trend continued into the first half of the 2020/21 season before Klopp decided to speak publicly about this.
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Since Jurgen Klopp complained about Manchester United receiving too many penalties, there has been a drastic drop in the penalties received by the Red Devils. Manchester United ended the 2020/21 season with just 11 penalties awarded, but many of them came before Klopp made his statement. This trend continued even further, and Manchester United received just five penalties in the 2021/22 season and three penalties in the 2022/23 season. The only club to get lower penalties than United in the 2022/23 season was Bournemouth, who did not receive any.
While Manchester United have indeed received fewer penalties since Jurgen Klopp’s comments, the decrease cannot be blamed entirely on his comments. The introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and the various changes to refine it have seen wrong penalty calls get overturned. United has also struggled to make direct attacks recently. Due to this, they have found themselves much less in the opposition’s penalty box, which could be another reason for the lack of penalties.
While it cannot be proved definitively if Klopp’s comments have decreased Manchester United’s penalties, one thing is for sure. The Liverpool manager’s comments surely brought attention to this matter, and they have been much more aware of this situation. This will surely have an effect when the referee decides whether to award Manchester United the penalty or not.
Jurgen Klopp’s comments may have had a psychological impact on both referees and players. Referees might subconsciously second-guess their decisions when it comes to awarding penalties to Manchester United, knowing that their decisions will be heavily scrutinised. The media and fan reactions to Jurgen Klopp’s comments were significant. The debate about penalties and refereeing decisions became a hot topic in football discussions, which puts every decision made by the referee under the microscope.
Ultimately, the debate about penalties and refereeing decisions is part of the broader discussion about fairness and consistency in football. Klopp’s comments served as a catalyst for this debate, highlighting the importance of transparency and accountability in officiating. Whether Manchester United’s penalty count will continue to be a topic of discussion remains to be seen, but it has undoubtedly added another layer of intrigue to the beautiful game.
For more news and updates on Jurgen Klopp, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.
Guransh Machra is a sportswriter at Gutshot Magazine. He covers football news from local leagues like the Indian Super League as well as international leagues like the Premier League. He follows various sports like Football, Cricket, Formula 1, and Tennis. Apart from sports, Guransh is also enthusiastic about reading and gaming.
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