LIVERPOOL, England — Jurgen Klopp has said manpower issues were the reason for why only one half of the pitch was cleared of snow at half-time of Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Wednesday.
Sources have told ESPN FC that the Premier League are content no rules were breached when Anfield groundstaff only removed snow from the half of the pitch Liverpool were attacking in the second half.
Klopp insists the move was not made to gain an advantage and that no members of Liverpool’s staff were instructed.
“When we were warming up it started snowing, but the pitch was completely OK,” he told a news conference on Friday. “Then we went in, and when we came out it was like full of hail or wet snow. The pitch was difficult.
“The first half we had 80 percent of the ball, so only one team suffered and it was us. It was clear that our groundstaff tried to clear it, but they didn’t have enough man power.
“They realised how difficult it was when they started doing it, not before. There was no plan, nobody told them, I can swear, to clear only our side or our box.
“I hear people say it’s unsporting, but it’s an advantage, if their box is clear then it’s better to defend. It’s no coincidence that in the first half we scored a goal in a box that was full of snow. That’s how it is, we cannot change it.
“In England people are not used to it. In Germany you would give shovels to everybody, even people in the stands would come on the pitch and help, and you would have 15 minutes to clear.
“We had even commercial things going on around the pitch — next time, first of all, there will be no commercial if it is snowing, and we will have enough shovels to clear the pitch. That’s football. The heating obviously couldn’t deal with it.
“In the end it was a bit better, but it was a difficult pitch to play on.”
Leicester frustrated Liverpool in their efforts to move seven points clear of Manchester City in the league table.
City defender Kyle Walker took particular delight in Liverpool’s draw, mocking the result on Twitter before deleting it.
“I never celebrated that another team dropped points or lost a game,” Klopp said. “For me that’s not allowed. I never asked anyone to clear one side of the pitch and leave the other one in the mud. That’s how I understand sports.
“You have to do your own things, to work out and show your best performance. I don’t understand it.
“For supporters it is a little bit different, for people involved I don’t understand. But it is nothing to criticise because I don’t understand, so how can I criticise it?”
Meanwhile, Joe Gomez remains sidelined through injury and is not expected to return in time for the first leg of Liverpool’s Champions League round-of-16 tie with Bayern Munich on Feb. 19.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss the trip to West Ham United on Monday night, but could return to full training next week.
“[There’s] no return date for Joe,” Klopp said. “Trent is getting better and better and better.”