In his own calm and composed manner, Arne Slot has provided a stinging commentary on the standards of refereeing in the Premier League.
The Liverpool head coach will serve a one-match touchline ban for tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Southampton, a suspension triggered by him being booked for the third time this season in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at home to Fulham.
Far from ranting and raving about his personal plight, though, the 46-year-old reflected philosophically on the impact it’ll have on his matchday duties in comparison to his native Netherlands.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference this morning, Slot said (via Liverpool FC on YouTube): “It won’t impact me as much as I thought. If you are suspended in Holland, you’re not allowed to be in and around the dressing room or you cannot [speak to] the media, so this is a lighter version of suspension. I’ve never been used to being suspended; it’s the first time I am.
“I’m still able to do the things I want to do. The lessened impact you have on your team is during the first 45 minutes and the most impact you can have is at half-time or before the game. In an ideal situation I would’ve been on the sideline but I got a yellow which I probably deserved. It happens.
“One of the three I didn’t deserve, but I said what I said back then. That was meant for one of my players so that one was a bit of a misunderstanding, but against Chelsea it was absolutely deserved. This game [v Fulham] I could have got five maybe, so to come out with [only] one, I have to thank the referee for that!”
When asked if he needed to reconsider his touchline behaviour after picking up that suspension, Slot replied (via Liverpool Echo): “You always reflect but I think in general I’m calm. There’s always a limit for me and I can get emotional, and unfortunately that limit is reached more by refereeing decisions than those my players make!”
Every manager can lose their cool on the touchline during a game, especially when they feel that refereeing decisions are continually going against them, although some have a far more fiery reputation than others.
Slot isn’t known for throwing tantrums in the technical area, one aspect where Jurgen Klopp wasn’t always impeccable, but even the Dutchman’s patience has been sufficiently tested by Premier League referees to incur a suspension just four months into his reign at Liverpool.
The 46-year-old’s comment about his temper being lost primarily by refereeing decisions rather than his player’s actions was calm in its delivery but savage in its meaning, and it’s hard to blame him for being enraged during Saturday’s tempestuous draw against Fulham.
It was a foul wrongly given against Curtis Jones which led to Slot being booked in that game, but that was likely down to a build-up of frustration arising from earlier decisions such as Andy Robertson’s red card and the one that Andreas Pereira should’ve had for his nasty challenge on Ryan Gravenberch.
The fact that the Liverpool boss had never received a touchline ban before now (this is his seventh season as a head coach in senior football) shows that he isn’t a combustible character by nature, and his behaviour in the technical area certainly hasn’t been overly abrasive.
Alas, he’s quickly discovering that refereeing standards in England leave a lot to be desired, and even someone as patient as him has struggled to keep his emotions in check by some of the calls made by officials, hence why he’ll be watching from further away than usual tomorrow night.
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