The drab nature of Sunday's Merseyside derby stalemate between Everton and Liverpool left us with very little to discuss in the way of goalmouth action, so it came as no surprise when fans latched onto a 'confrontation' between Reds manager Jurgen Klopp and an Everton ball boy, looking for some semblance of controversy upon which to speculate.
The German appeared to stop in his tracks when goaded by the youngster, who sarcastically applauded him on his way back to the dressing room after the match, before exchanging some words, and footage of the incident circulated on social media via outlets such as Soccer AM.
Did that Everton ballboy just sarcastically clap Jurgen Klopp?! 臘♂️藍 pic.twitter.com/4cVQq4CDFh
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) March 3, 2019
Despite tensions being high, however, the ball boy's dad has spoken out on the incident, admitting that while he is proud of his son for winding up the Reds boss, there was nothing but good-natured banter on show.
When asked if his kid did indeed sarcastically applaud Klopp, he said on social media (via the Mirror): "He most certainly did. That's my boy.
"It was just a bit of banter between Charlie and Klopp at the end. It was all good natured - that's what the derby is all about. Charle just asked him what he thought about the World Cup final."
It is presumed the comment related to Klopp labelling the game as Everton's 'World Cup final' last week.
Although he wouldn't admit as much after the match, the result would have been a tough one to take for Klopp, as his side drew for the fourth time in six matches, and now sit one point behind leaders Manchester City with nine games each remaining.
Everton, meanwhile, sit in 10th place, six points off the coveted seventh-placed finish and accompanying probability of European football they are chasing.
Source : 90min