Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has slammed Jurgen Klopp for his comments about Manchester United's penalty record, dubbing the Liverpool boss a 'hypocrite'.
The Liverpool manager stated 'United had more penalties in two years than he has had in five-and-a-half years' at Anfield after his side lost 1-0 to Southampton last week.
That sparked a debate with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ahead of the huge match at Anfield this weekend, where the two title rivals go toe-to-toe.
United head into that tie with a three-point advantage in the title race - and Clattenburg believes that may be the reason for Klopp's comments.
He believes the comments are due to Klopp's growing concerns in the title race and claims it is a 'blatant attempt' to influence the officials.
"He sounds like a hypocrite if he is suggesting United's players are looking to win penalties. The likes of Mo Salah and (Sadio) Mane are just as capable of employing similar tactics," Clattenburg claimed in The Daily Mail.
"He is clearly getting edgy, though, because not since Fergie have we seen such a blatant attempt to influence a referee ahead of a big game. Klopp wasn't doing this last season when Liverpool were winning every week.
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"He does not like losing, he never has. He gets prickly. But he is wrong to suggest there is an aura around United that sees them given favourable decisions. There used to be when Fergie was there, but that has eased massively since he left.
"I am the only referee to give three penalties to the opposition at Old Trafford, and that was for Liverpool, of all teams, in 2014. But David Moyes was manager — I'm not sure that would have happened when Fergie was there!"
