Jurgen Klopp responded to a journalist’s question on whether he thinks Vinicius Jr deserves the abuse he gets on the pitch.
The question comes before Liverpool’s clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League which sees a repeat of last year’s final where Real Madrid won 1-0, the goal courtesy of the man in question, Vinicius Jr.
In response to the question of whether the Brazilian deserves his abuse because of what he does on the pitch, Klopp said: “So you’re saying there are things he is doing on the pitch that causes this racist abuse? There’s nothing in the world that could justify that.
“Imagine if I said “yes, what he does on the pitch means he deserves this abuse”. That would be insane.
As if a journalist actually asked Jurgen Klopp if Vinicius Jr’s actions on the pitch justified the abuse he gets from week to week.
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) February 20, 2023
“As far as I know he’s a world-class player and you cannot leave him alone in one-on-one situations. He didn’t get fussed by the occasion in the last game [the final] where he scored the goal and I’m sure that makes him a Real Madrid legend now.”
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“This is the first time I’ve heard this crazy suggestion but I don’t really read about that kind of stuff, to be honest.”
The pair clash this evening at Anfield, with kick-off at 20:00 BST.