Liverpool boss Arne Slot reveals Arsenal criticism led to yellow card: 'F****** joke' | OneFootball

Liverpool manager was shown a yellow card with 20 minutes remaining

Arne Slot revealed he was shown a yellow card against Arsenal because the fourth official thought he had sworn at him.

Liverpool picked up a point at the Emirates Stadium, twice coming from behind in the 2-2 draw as Mohamed Salah struck with ten minutes remaining.

Referee Anthony Taylor walked over to the touchline and booked Slot during the second-half, with it not immediately apparent what that was forced.

Slot explained after the match: “Last time I said I completely deserved a yellow card. This time, I don’t think I did.

“I said after so many times they were on the floor, which can happen in football — I don’t blame them for that — but they always fell down after they had ball possession. That took the energy out of the game in my opinion.

“I said to Ibou [Konate]: ‘This is a f****** joke’. The fourth official thought I said to him: ‘You are a f****** joke’. So that is definitely not what I said.

“But I got a yellow for that so now I am on two. I have to be careful now.”

Liverpool missed out on the chance to go back to the top of the Premier League, but they are only a point behind Manchester City after nine games.

Slot’s side hold a four-point advantage over Arsenal, but the Liverpool boss insisted it is too soon for him to think about the state of the title race.

"I know you guys like to talk about title contenders and where we are exactly in the league,” Slot said.

“That is also part of your job. The only thing I look at is can you get a result in a difficult away game as this one? The way we did it pleased me a lot and we're only nine or 10 games into the season, but to see we can compete with such a strong Arsenal team, in their stadium, that is very pleasing to see.

“But where it exactly will lead towards the end of the season? I cannot tell you yet."