It’s fair to say that Vincent Kompany has never really been a big fan of Liverpool.
Having spent 11 years at Manchester City, Kompany has done battle with the Reds on more occasions than most. The fact that he often came out on top will be mean little.
Now a manager and in charge at Burnley, Kompany’s battles with Liverpool have taken on a slightly different tone. He couldn’t quite believe just how difficult managing at Anfield was, for example.
Nevertheless, the Belgian coach has still made it clear that there’s no love lost between he and his old foe. He had the perfect chance to stand up and be counted when Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly ruled out against Tottenham Hotspur in September. Instead, he potentially let rivalries get in the way.
Now, with the referees inevitably letting his own team down, Kompany has miraculously changed his tune. But let’s rewind first to what the former City captain said back in the Autumn.
What did Vincent Kompany say about Liverpool
Liverpool were obviously incensed when VAR and referee Simon Hooper combined to falsely rule Diaz’s strike out against Spurs. Furious, they demanded answers.
With the Reds now involved in such a tight title race, the incident could still have a lasting and more sinister legacy.
At the time though, nobody else seemed to be bothered a jot. Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was unconcerned by the state of refereeing and didn’t see fit to back Liverpool in their quest for answers.
And neither did Kompany. In quotes from the Burnley Express, the 37-year-old claimed that the officials were ‘doing the best they could.’
“From my side, I prefer to talk about us making it the best we can and getting it right, understanding what we need for football,” he said.
“Rather than pointing out individuals because they’re doing the best they can and we all obviously make mistakes.”
What has he said now
Six months on from Kompany’s laissez-faire attitude, it’s fair to say that he’s slightly more bothered now. Having seen his team marooned in the relegation zone all season long, the former centre-back has now railed at what he believes to be incompetent officiating.
“To all those responsible, the refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season,” he says via journalist Paul Gorst. “There’s a lack of consistency and some reflections are needed to improve the standards of our game.”
Well, well, well. Okay, plenty more of the season has passed and a bigger sample size collated. Being generous to Kompany you could say he was giving the officials the benefit of the doubt earlier in the campaign and has now made his mind up. But we think that’s being too kind.
Instead, just like more or less every other manager out there, Kompany had the chance to speak out and did nothing. Had their peers backed Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, maybe real change would have been affected. As it is, referees were allowed to carry on with the same poor standards. Shame, really Vincent. But I guess that’s life.