Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is reportedly facing the prospect of a lengthy suspension for his comments towards referee Paul Tierney in Sunday's Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite throwing away a 3-0 lead against Ryan Mason's side, Liverpool ran out 4-3 victors in dramatic circumstances at Anfield, where controversy was rife.
Klopp was incensed at the awarding of a free kick which led to Richarlison's third goal, which came just a couple of minutes before Diogo Jota scored a dramatic late winner.
During the manic celebrations, Klopp immediately sprinted up to fourth official John Brooks and shouted in his face, before limping back to the dugout after ostensibly pulling his hamstring.
Klopp was given a talking-to by Tierney and booked in the aftermath, but he claimed after the game that the official used words that were "not OK" when cautioning him.
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The Reds boss also alleged that Tierney must have something "against" his side, but having listened to the audio from the exchange, the PGMOL "strongly refute" any suggestions of wrongdoing from Tierney.
According to the Daily Mail, the FA are now handling the incident, and Klopp can expect to be slapped with a heavy touchline ban as punishment for his antics.
The report adds that audio from Klopp and Tierney's exchange will likely be made public when the FA have concluded their investigation, which will also include written reasons for their decision.
Klopp escaped a suspension after giving linesman Gary Beswick an earful in October's win over Manchester City, but he was slapped with a £30,000 fine for his troubles.
Sunday's game was not the first time when Klopp and Tierney came to blows either, as the Reds boss told the latter that he has "no problems with referees, only you" when Harry Kane avoided a red card in Tottenham's 2-2 draw with Liverpool in December 2021.
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Tierney also oversaw Liverpool's four-goal draw with Arsenal last month, booking Andrew Robertson as the left-back accused linesman Constantine Hatzidakis of elbowing him in the face, and the official faced no further action after apologising to Robertson.
Prior to Jota's winner on Sunday, the Portugal international was arguably fortunate to escape a red card after drawing blood from Oliver Skipp with a high boot to the head.
However, earlier on in the game, Skipp caught the returning Luis Diaz on the ankle with a studs-up challenge, controversially avoiding further punishment as well.
Spurs interim boss Mason demanded an explanation as to why Jota was not sent off for his challenge on Skipp, which occurred 13 minutes before the Portugal international scored the game's seventh and final goal.
Liverpool managed to leapfrog Spurs into fifth place in the table thanks to Sunday's fiery triumph and return to Anfield for the visit of Fulham on Wednesday evening.
Ben Knapton
