Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is something of a cult figure in world soccer. The ridiculously charismatic German has been a media darling since his time at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. Since his move to Liverpool in the Fall of 2015, fans have had a love affair with their manager that has rarely been equaled. Now, they have one more reason to adore the big German.
Jurgen Klopp recently refused to speak to a journalist from the English tabloid, The Sun. In the aftermath of Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat of Barcelona in the International Champions Cup preseason friendly, Klopp was quizzed by reporters. One such reporter representing The Sun spoke up with a question before receiving a curt response from the German.
“I don’t talk with The Sun anymore. You can listen. It’s because of a few things that will happen in the next few days.”
Klopp took issue to a couple articles from The Sun that he felt violated the personal lives of two of his players. Mainly, because one would be considered a non-story if it didn’t involve a professional player, and the other has been largely discredited by statements that were given at the time. Because of that, Klopp felt the need to make a statement and not answer questions from The Sun.
Liverpool fans have had a tumultuous relationship with The Sun, ever since the insulting and disgraceful reporting from the tabloid in the days following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death due to overcrowding from police allowing too many people in at the same time. Their article ‘The Truth,’ erroneously reported Liverpool fans stole from the dead and prevented emergency workers from tending to those who were dying. Even though the story has since been discredited, the damage remained with many still believing that false story years later. Due to the article, many Liverpudlian newsstands still refuse to carry the tabloid and a boycott from Liverpool fans, as well as rival Everton fans, that has remained for 27 years and counting. The Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath was covered in 2014 by ESPN’s 30 for 30 series and is highly recommended for an in depth evaluation of the events that took the lives of 96 fans and the police coverup afterward.
This isn’t the first time that Klopp has shown a disdain for The Sun. In fact, it has become fairly well documented from his time at Dortmund that he dislikes the paper, and those like it. Liverpool fans and their manager aren’t the only ones to have issues with The Sun either. Recently, former England international Paul Gascoigne has been featured in The Sun battling his well documented problems with alcohol abuse. In response to this, Gascoigne’s sister, Lindsay, took to Facebook to defend her brother, claiming that they had been following her family and even going as far as to leave bottles of alcohol outside of her brother’s front door. The Sun is owned by Rupert Murdoch, whose News of the World tabloid was shut down in 2011 due to illegally hacking the phones of celebrities, the royal family and members of government among others for stories.
This disgusting behavior is only the latest in a long history. Klopp’s stand against the invasion of privacy that The Sun is so willing to commit is noble and he is certainly not the only one. The more big names that get behind this and the #DontBuyTheSun movement, the stronger the message that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. About time.
