The Danish journalist at the centre of Jurgen Klopp’s post-match interview strop has revealed the ‘annoyed’ Liverpool manager left bystanders open-mouthed in shock as he continued to fume after the cameras stopped rolling.
Having landed back in Denmark as headline news, Viaplay commentator Niels Christian Fredericksen explained to Mail Sport how his ‘innocent’ opening question to Klopp soon led to a frosty exchange in the moments after Liverpool’s 4-3 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
‘Klopp got more and more intense,’ Fredericksen, who has covered Premier League football for Viaplay for 10 years now, said.
‘He got more and more fired up and then he started: “Dumb question, I can’t have this any more, I don’t want to stand here,” and he just left in the middle of the second answer!
‘I was just like “what the f**k”. It was quite an innocent question, not totally dumb.
‘It’s not too clever but it’s not stupid by any standard and for sure it’s not aggressive. It really took me by surprise.
‘When he went around me I asked, “why do you feel so provoked?” Then he shouted at me and he pushed my microphone away.
‘I kept walking after him with a microphone and he pushed it away. He was trying to flea from the interview.’
Klopp, along with Liverpool press officer Tony Barrett, headed down the narrow corridor in the bowels of Old Trafford, down past Man United’s changing room.
‘He was very much annoyed. He pushed my microphone, cameras stopped, and he went down a short hallway towards United’s dressing room,’ Fredericksen continued.
‘He said something, he didn’t shout but said loudly, like “stupid question”, “dumb question”, “I won’t tolerate this” and such. He was really, really upset.’
Mail Sport has reached out to Liverpool for comment following the incident.
Fredericksen had been expecting to speak to Liverpool full-back Andrew Robertson and so was caught off-guard when Klopp appeared.
He was first asked to explain the kamikaze nature of the game before a second question on why intensity was lacking caused the now-viral tiff.
Extended footage surfaced yesterday with Klopp telling the reporter ‘you’re obviously not in great shape’ before storming off.
Playing down any suggestion that Klopp was making reference to his weight, Fredericksen, who stressed to Mail Sport that he holds no grudge against the Liverpool boss, added: ‘I don’t have to call my doctor or anything! It happened and let’s do our work and go on from here, no worries about it.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
