Jurgen Klopp believes Premier League leader Liverpool’s profile prompts criticism of Mohamed Salah amid claims he has dived to earn penalties this season.
Salah has won several spot-kicks this term, with some soft decisions questioned. The forward appeared to go down under minimal contact against Newcastle United in December, while he was confronted by Crystal Palace players this month when a foul was not awarded after he went to ground.
But Klopp insists Liverpool’s star forward does not dive, suggesting his actions are only the subject of scrutiny because he plays for a big club.
“[Crystal Palace] was the first situation where he went down without [a penalty] and you speak about all the other situations as well,” Klopp said to reporters.
“The other situations there is nothing to talk about – it is a penalty, done. If this is the first then why do we talk about?
“There are other situations, much more obvious situations, that we don’t talk about and nobody is talking about because it’s not [Manchester] City, it’s not [Manchester] United, it’s not Liverpool, it’s not Arsenal or it’s not Chelsea.