Arne Slot responds to the FA publishing his F-word tirade at referee Michael Oliver – as Liverpool boss vows to keep his composure against PSG

Arne Slot has vowed to not lose his temper again and admitted emotions got the better of him in the Merseyside Derby after the FA published the written reasons for the Liverpool head coach’s two-game ban on Tuesday.

Slot is accused of telling referee Michael Oliver ‘I will f***ing blame you if we don’t win the league’ during an X-rated tirade after the draw at Everton last month. The manager disputed he used this foul language but accepted the charge.

But the Reds boss is keen to put the incident behind him and said on Tuesday: ‘The moment it happened, I was quite emotional for everything that happened in the last seven or eight minutes and maybe the whole game.

‘I chose to go on pitch instead of staying calm, staying inside and then talking to Michael. Now I don’t have the same emotions anymore so I think I should set a better example than I set back then and not go into the situation again.

‘It’s clear what I’ve written and what Michael has written (in the report). Michael has been in the news quite a lot recently and I don’t think it helps if I add something to that now I have my emotions under control.’

In the verdict, the FA noted Slot’s apology and how he had shown contrition and thus reduced his ban to two matches rather than three. He has already served one of those games and will also sit out of Saturday’s league clash with Southampton.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has responded to the FA’s written report following his F-word tirade at referee Michael Oliver

The Dutchman allegedly shook Michael Oliver’s hand while swearing at him saying it was a ‘f**king disgrace’

Although Slot disputed he used this foul language, the 46-year-old vowed to keep his composure in Liverpool’s next game against Paris Saint-Germain

Slot instead claimed he said ‘if we don’t win the league, I will have you to thank for that’, but he did not challenge that he said it was a ‘f**king disgrace’ to the assistant referee. Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff is also accused of using foul language on several counts which he accepted.

In his first approach to Oliver, with his two approaches said to be one minute apart, it was revealed Slot told the referee he had ‘f***ing give (Everton) everything’ and that he hoped that Oliver ‘was proud of that performance.’

He also put on record that his X-rated tirade towards officials was not personal abuse and was instead a product of his frustration more generally at the manner of the game, which saw Liverpool concede a 98th-minute equaliser.

Referee Oliver will not be involved in any Premier League games this weekend – a week on from initially missing the straight red card for Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts which left Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta requiring 25 stitches.

PGMOL insiders say they regularly rotate referees and that includes officials occasionally skipping match rounds, though his absence from the latest appointments list inevitably sparked speculation yesterday after the controversial FA Cup clash at Selhurst Park.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have been compared to a team of ‘fighter jets’ by Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique ahead of the two teams meeting in a mouth-watering clash at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.

‘They have three fighter jets in attack and it’s not easy to stop these fighter jets,’ said the Spaniard, who won the Champions League as Barcelona boss and has made PSG into a force – going 22 unbeaten.

‘We are facing the team that has played the best football in the group stage. They were the most consistent side. Arne Slot has done a great job. 

Slot’s men are set to take on Ligue 1 title holders PSG in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday

The Reds have been left sweating over the fitness of forward Cody Gakpo after he was not spotted in training on Tuesday due to a knock picked up a day earlier 

‘He has created a near-perfect team, which knows how to defend, how to press and can attack either by holding the ball or accelerating.’

Slot countered this and said: ‘It’s a nice compliment to get, but the best team in Europe has to win the Champions League… we are far away from that, starting with a very difficult game here and then all the difficult ones that are coming up because we have seen the draw.

‘I think the best team in Europe at the moment is still Real Madrid as they won this competition last season. Someone else can say something different but, for us, we first have to win it before we can say it.’

Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of forward Cody Gakpo after he suffered a knock in training on Monday. The Dutchman did not train on Tuesday morning but was part of the travelling party who boarded the flight to Paris.