After Mohamed Salah was accused of going to ground easily on the weekend, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has leapt to his player's defence.
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The 28-year-old won the penalty that he himself converted in the Reds' 2-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday, although some believe he effectively conned the match official into awarding the spot-kick.
Asked during a pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League fixture against Atalanta this week if he believes the criticism Salah has received since is fair, Klopp was emphatic in his response.
"No," the German tactician answered, according to the Metro.
"I don't know what people need to – look, it was a foul. It was pretty much by everyone who saw the situation.
"Believe it or not, yesterday morning I spoke to Mo about how he feels and he has exactly three proper knocks on the foot and one of them was from the penalty situation.
"That's how it is. There was a knock, you go down and whatever. Sometimes the ref's whistle…
"We don't talk that long about penalties we don't get in other games. There was clear contact. What can I say? No, I don't understand the criticism."
Click through the gallery below to see the 10 highest-paid players at Liverpool and where Salah ranks!
