Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho caused a stir earlier this week when it was revealed that he had been sent home from the side’s training camp in the United States.
Although Liverpool refused to comment on the matter at the time, it was widely reported that the French international had been banished due to concerns over his attitude – though there was the slight possibility that he could have returned to England to undergo treatment for an Achilles injury.
However, manager Jürgen Klopp has confirmed the former theory to be true, revealing that Sakho was sent home for a “lack of respect,” but was also quick to downplay the incident’s gravity in terms of the 26-year-old’s Anfield future:
“It’s not that serious. He missed the departure of the plane, he missed a session and then was late for a meal … I have to build a group here, I have to start anew, so I thought it maybe made sense that he flew home to Liverpool and after eight days, when we come back, we can talk about it.
“But it’s not that serious. It is how I said, we have some rules and we have to respect them. If somebody doesn’t respect it, or somebody gives me the feeling he is not respecting it, then I have to react, that’s all.”
The message from the manager is clear – he is trying to foster a spirit of team unity in the camp and any threat to that will not be tolerated.
Klopp also confirmed that there had been no argument between the two men, only an exchange of words:
“It is private, how he reacted. But we had no argument. I spoke. You cannot argue when only one person is speaking, that’s all. Even injured players have sessions, that’s all.”
He also stated that he probably wouldn’t be fining Sakho for the incident, arguing that such actions are generally pointless in the grand scheme of things:
“Fine him? You can ask, and I can explain it in general. I am not interested in the money of the players.
“I don’t like fining. Sometimes it is funny, when the fine is bullshit. Come on, pay for it, that’s nice. But mistakes, fining never helps.”
Klopp was speaking to the press in the aftermath of Liverpool’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Chelsea early this morning, their first defeat of pre-season, in a fiery encounter in Pasadena. Their next match, in another International Champions Cup tie, will be against AC Milan in California on Sunday.
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