Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has condemned supporters who chanted homophobic songs at Norwich midfielder Billy Gilmour, calling them ‘idiots’.
The Reds won 3-0 at Carrow Road over the weekend in their opening Premier League game, but the victory was spoiled by the chants.
Some supporters in the away section sang “Chelsea rent boy”, with Liverpool FC quick to condemn their actions after the game, labelling it “offensive and inappropriate”.
Klopp sat down with Paul Amann, the founder of Liverpool LGBT+ fans group Kop Outs, to express his dismay at the abuse and call on supporters to stop.
“I never understand why you would sing a song if it was against something in a football stadium,” Klopp said in an interview on Liverpool’s official Twitter.
“I never got that. I never liked it. In our case we have probably the best songbook in the world.
“It’s easy to decide not to sing the song any more. So, we can decide now, this is not our song any more, so I’m not sure if people listen to me but it would be nice.
“I don’t want to hear it any more, for so many reasons. We obviously live in a time where we learn a lot in the moment.
“I’m 54 now and when I was 20 we said so many things which we didn’t think about. And meanwhile, thank God, 34 years later we learned it’s just not right to say.”
Klopp also suggested such chants do not help him on the touchline or the players on the pitch do their job and was not impressed with those who sang at Gilmour.
“From a player or coach perspective, I can see these songs don’t help as well as it’s like a waste of time,” he added.
“It’s definitely a waste of time because I hear in the stadium when they start singing ‘Bobby Firmino’, ‘Mo Salah’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
“This kind of stuff, that gives you goosebumps and a push, the other songs are completely a waste of time and if you think (believe) what you sing, you are an idiot.
“If you don’t think about what you’re singing in that situation. It’s just a waste of time, forget it and go for another song.”
Leave a Reply