Arne Slot has different version of events to Michael Oliver in X-rated Liverpool row

Liverpool boss Arne Slot unleashed a foul-mouthed rant towards referee Michael Oliver after last month’s Merseyside derby, but the pair have different accounts of what was said

Arne Slot has denied telling referee Michael Oliver that he’d ‘f***ing blame him’ if Liverpool didn’t win the Premier League title following last month’s explosive Merseyside derby – but agrees that what he did say was still worthy of punishment.

Slot lost his cool with Oliver after local rivals Everton scored a controversial 98th-minute equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw. Oliver didn’t give a foul on Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate after being challenged by Beto in the build-up to James Tarkowski’s late strike, which came three minutes after the five minutes of stoppage time which had been added as a minimum.

The Liverpool manager his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, were both shown red cards by Oliver after walking onto the pitch at full-time and are currently serving two-match touchline bans. On Tuesday, the FA’s written reasons for Slot’s ban were released. Oliver and the FA’s version of events claim that the Dutchman had told him: “If we don’t win the league, I’ll f***ing blame you.”

Slot denied using those words, stating in a submission that he’d instead told the referee: “If we don’t win the league, I will have you to thank for that.” However, a three-person commission concluded that it was ‘more likely than not that Slot used the language alleged by the referee and the FA’.

The FA argued that, in any event, Slot had acted improperly. The 46-year-old accepted that and didn’t deny using the words “f***ing disgrace’ to an assistant referee.

In a statement, the commission said: “Arne Slot, as the manager of LFC, is a role model and should be exercising good discipline both on and off the pitch, and setting an example to his players.” It added that his actions ‘did not provide the positive image of the game that the governing bodies strive for’.

The statement added that if not for Slot’s good record, a three-match ban would’ve been imposed. Had that been the case, Slot would’ve been in the stands for Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle at Wembley on March 16.

He’ll serve the second and final game of his touchline ban during Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Southampton at Anfield. Slot conceded that his behaviour was wrong when speaking two days after the incident. “It happened a lot and the emotions got the better of me,” he explained.

Should Arne Slot have been given a longer ban? Have your say in the comments section.

“If I could do it differently, If I look back at it, I would love to do it differently. I would do it (differently) next time as well. What has exactly been said or what has happened, there is an ongoing process and I don’t want to disturb that. Many things in extra times I was upset with.

“There was a VAR check for minutes and I thought the only thing he could look at was the foul and then I was happy because I thought maybe it’s offside! Of course then after 10 minutes you hear their fans cheering… so many things happened. But it wouldn’t be smart to go into every single incident.”

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