Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on the all-female team of on-field officials who took charge of the UEFA Super Cup last night.
Stephanie Frappart, the French official, was the woman in the centre of the pitch, with both of her assistants also female on an historic evening for the men’s game.
Frappart, even with the assistance of VAR, appeared to get the penalty decision when Adrian slid in on Tammy Abraham completely wrong, while there were several throw-ins given the wrong way, as well as an obvious Chelsea corner awarded as a Reds goal-kick.
The Reds could also have been awarded a penalty inside the first few minutes of the game for a handball which VAR did not even decide to review.
Speaking after the game, though, Klopp was full of praise for the official’s performances.
According to the Daily Express, Klopp said: “I told the ref team after the game that if we would have played like they whistled, we would have won 6-0. That was my absolute opinion. They played a brilliant game.
“I told her as well that I am not happy with the penalty decision because I’m still not sure that it was a penalty, but it’s not important anymore. They were really good.
“Whatever you could have thought before the game, there was pressure on them like hell with an historic moment.
“Staying by yourself, staying calm and do what you have to do, decide very important things in a very difficult and intense game, I couldn’t have more respect, to be honest. It was really a brilliant performance.”
It’s easy to say the referee was good, of course, when your side has just won. Had the Reds been defeated in the penalty shootout, it would have felt completely unfair given some of the major decisions that were wrongly awarded in Chelsea’s favour.