Liverpool face Brighton in their first match after the March international break, but already appear set for a tricky day after the Premier League confirmed the refereeing team for the game

Jurgen Klopp will be cursing his luck after Liverpool were handed a trio with very recent history for the refereeing team for their clash with Brighton.

The Reds only trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by goal difference as the top flight returns from the international break. In their first match back, Klopp’s men will host Brighton at Anfield on Sunday.

Klopp’s men are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games and have also won the Carabao Cup in that period.

They drew with Brighton on the south coast in October, but could face a tricky day in the reverse fixture.

That is because the PGMOL, who are in charge of referees in the top-flight, have announced their appointments for this weekend’s games. The referee for Liverpool’s match will be David Coote, while Paul Tierney will be the VAR and Dan Cook the assistant VAR.

All three have had run-ins with Klopp and Liverpool over previous seasons. Coote was the man in the middle when Liverpool drew with title rivals Arsenal in December, controversially failing to award a penalty for a handball against Martin Odegaard.

He was also stood down for a matchday back in 2020 when as a VAR, he failed to punish Jordan Pickford following his horror tackle on Virgil van Dijk, which left the Dutchman with a ruptured ACL and Klopp furious.

“For me, it was a clear penalty what I saw and then obviously we saw that the flag went up, so offside. I still thought it’s worth to have a look on the foul but that didn’t happen. We have no power there, we just sit here and now you discuss it with me,” he said.

“We have to ask other people about that. What can I say? I don’t want to say Jordan Pickford wanted to do it but it’s, of course, not a challenge how a goalie can do it in the box because there’s another player. If it’s not offside, it’s 100 per cent a penalty. So it’s nothing, that’s all.”

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David Coote will be the man in the middle, having had a history of run-ins with Klopp (
Image:
Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Tierney meanwhile has a long history of clashes with Klopp and Liverpool. That boiled over at the end of last season when Klopp accused him of being biased following a thrilling win over Tottenham, landing the German a two-match ban.

Klopp said: “We have our history with Tierney. I really don’t know what he has against us. He has said there is no problems but that cannot be true. How he looks at me, I don’t understand it.”

The final member of the team Klopp will not be looking forward to seeing is Cook. He was on duty for Liverpool’s clash with Spurs earlier this season and was part of the team that botched the decision to disallow a Luis Diaz goal for offside, leading to Klopp demanding a replay.

“It was an obvious mistake and I think there would have been solutions for it afterwards. If not, I can say immediately, I think the only outcome should be a replay. That’s how it is. It probably will not happen,” he said.

“I think the situation is that unprecedented that a replay would be the right thing. In this specific game, what makes it a bit more special is that we conceded two minutes after we scored a regular goal. It would have been different. That’s my view on it.”