Jurgen Klopp has revealed Liverpool’s zero tolerance towards discrimination, and demanded fans stop using a “vile chant”.
The Anfield boss was taken aback by a song from his own club’s supporters at Norwich last Saturday - aimed at on-loan Chelsea player Billy Gilmour - which uses insulting homophobic language.
Klopp didn’t hold back, describing those behind the chant as “idiots”, and he has made clear he doesn’t ever want to hear such discriminatory abuse coming from the terraces ever again.
“Actually, I think it’s easy – it’s easy to decide not (to) sing the song anymore,” he said. “I really think it’s an easy decision and should be an easy decision.
“For our supporters group and for me, that means: done. So, we can decide now: this is not our song anymore. I don’t want to hear it anymore for so many reasons.”
Klopp held a meeting on Thursday with Paul Amann, the founder of Kop Outs, a Liverpool fan group which was formed in 2016 to provide a voice for LGBT+ supporters, and raise awareness of issues.
The pair discussed the lasting damage which discriminatory chants can cause, with Amann explaining that the abuse is hugely divisive amongst the club’s own fanbase.
“(It) was the ‘rent boys’ chant sung at the Norwich game, which is so unnecessary,” he said. “It’s such an unnecessary and vile chant that leaves gay fans absolutely out in the cold, and that is wrong.
“The people who hear it are fellow (Liverpool) fans like myself, who go from hearing You’ll Never Walk Alone and being embraced in fanhood and that fantastic atmosphere, to then suddenly being left out.
“It’s as if a bucket of cold water has been thrown over you in terms of the emotional state that hits you with.”
Klopp went further, he made a powerful plea to all the club’s supporters to stop the discrimination, and he said: “If you think what you sing: you are an idiot.
“From a player or coach perspective, I can say these songs don’t help us as well. It’s just so unnecessary. “I never understand that, why you would sing a song that is against something in a football stadium.
“I never got that. I never liked it and I don’t like this. In our case, we have probably the best songbook in the world. Let’s go for another song.
“I hear in the stadium when they start singing Bobby Firmino, Mo Salah, You’ll Never Walk Alone obviously, all this kind of stuff. That gives (us) goosebumps, that gives you a push.”
Liverpool have made clear they have a zero tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination, and will pursue action against any of their fans using such behaviour or language.
