Jurgen Klopp slams "faceless" social media trolls

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp suggested that the smartest decision of his life was to not use social media. He hit out after the social media treatment of Liverpool and Germany goalkeeper Loris Karius and his countryman Mesut Ozil.

Ozil called time on his international career with Germany this week because of the racism he faced for taking a photograph with Turkish president Recep Erdogan.

Karius meanwhile was lambasted after he made two costly mistakes against Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May.

These two incidents created a furore online. Klopp suggested that he simply could not understand the online abuse which public figures now experience.

"Look, I think my smartest decision in life was not to use social media, I don't read it if people criticize me on social media. They can write whatever they want and it never would faze me because I don't know it. I don't read it, so I don't feel it.” Klopp was quoted as saying by ESPN FC.

"I never really thought it right if you listen to people, they don't show you their face -- if you want to tell me you're not happy with me, tell me now, but don't go out and write it on your smartphone and put it on Facebook, Instagram, whatever.” he said.

"Obviously, in their rooms when they write, they don't care about the person. Not only Loris -- [they care] about nobody. They don't care. It's like they have a lot of power in that moment and they use it, but power is two things. When one has power, the other one who feeds it and so I really would say it's a good idea in life to really don't get in these things. I'm not sure that it will happen, but maybe one time, we can start talking again and don't write messages to each other."

Footage of the Karius's error in a recent friendly went viral on social media, prompting Klopp to defend his under-fire keeper.

"Football is like it is, but Loris is still a really good goalkeeper. Did I like what the fans in the preseason games did and they start kind of making noises in the moment when he gets the ball? I never understood people doing that, but if they think it is part of the game, yeah, then do it. It still doesn't say anything about you as a goalkeeper -- it's a preseason game and all the players on the pitch made mistakes."

Klopp, meanwhile, insisted Ozil was within his rights to end his Germany career in the wake of the criticism he shouldered following the World Cup.

"I read all the things and heard all the things," Klopp said, shaking his head. "I really don't think that anybody has said the 100 per cent right thing about it, and I don't have the right thing to say [anything] about it. It's a personal decision and, first of all, you don't want to play for Germany -- other players did that as well. He had 92 games.

"All the rest, I don't really understand it 100 per cent. Yes, the picture [with Erdogan] was more than unlucky. That's how it is, 100 per cent.

"But all rest is then you can find true things in what he wrote and you will find a few things that obviously that the rest of the world would say, 'No, that's not exactly like it is.'

"But it's a personal opinion, not more. It's his opinion that it happens like that and that's why he stepped back. So his decision, absolutely, and he has the right to do so." he concluded.