Vincent Kompany has been banned for Burnley’s next Premier League match.
Kompany claimed he only received a yellow card during Burnley’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool because Jurgen Klopp had already wound up the referee. Tim Robinson issued Klopp with caution after becoming increasingly frustrated in the technical area.
The two sides headed into the break level when Dara O’Shea’s header cancelled out Diogo Jota’s strike. Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez both found the back of the net in the second half to put Liverpool top of the Premier League table.
Kompany reckons that the referee was desperate to dish out a yellow to him to level things up. It is the third time Kompany has been booked this season, meaning he will be banned from the touchline when Burnley host Arsenal next Saturday.
“I’d say it’s a little bit to do with the game,” Kompany explained.
“I think I got booked because I should have paid attention to the fact that Jurgen Klopp got booked because then all I think the referee did was just went looking for me.
“I opened my arms out which I have done exactly that in many games. Then all of a sudden the card comes out. Out of nothing. Now I am suspended for the next game. I should have known it was just a way to balance it out and it doesn’t make sense, but hey, we have to keep going. No sulking.”
Speaking on his yellow card, Klopp said:
“It was emotional, definitely. Imagine in this game and the referee has a blue card available? It would have been the wild west. There were so many yellow cards today.
“I had no clue why Vincent Kompany got it. I lost it in that situation so fine, give me a yellow card. As long as I don’t get a blue one and have to sit somewhere for 10 minutes!”
Despite the loss, Kompany was happy with his team’s performance. He added:
“It was as good as a performance as you need to have a chance of getting a result somewhere like Anfield. There were lots of positives. We will always feel disappointed about the result but the message to the team is we keep growing. Every day of the week we need to continue with that belief.
“It wasn’t just those two chances. In the first half we had many moments where we broke and could have finished with one-on-one so it’s the final ball and final details. They have good players too. You need a little something going your way and there was not enough of that today for us to get a result.
“I understand from Liverpool’s perspective, they are always awkward games. There is an expectation from fans to see those games off early and to have a little bit of a quiet afternoon but that’s something we can benefit from. I’ve been on the other side many times and know how awkward these things can be. We made it difficult and these types of performances can’t remain unrewarded in the future.”
