Liverpool’s first official match of the season takes place later this month as they take on Manchester City in the Community Shield.
The Reds earned their place in the annual season curtain-raiser after winning the FA Cup in May. Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Chelsea on a penalty shootout after the final at Wembley finished goalless after extra-time.
Manchester City, as the winners of the Premier League, will be Liverpool’s opponents in the Community Shield, which will take place on July 30 at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium. The match is not being held at Wembley due to the Women's Euro 2022 final being staged there that weekend.
READ MORE: Mario Gotze admits regret after turning down Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool to sign for Dortmund
READ MORE: Lionel Messi sent blunt Liverpool transfer message
And it has been confirmed that Craig Pawson will be the referee for the clash at the King Power. He will be assisted by Harry Lennard and Nick Hopton, while Darren England will be the fourth official and John Brooks the VAR.
Pawson was the referee for four Liverpool matches last season, including the FA Cup final win against Chelsea. He was also the man in the middle for the Reds’ defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.
Liverpool lost that game 3-2 at the London Stadium last November. During the contest, manager Klopp was unhappy with a number of incidents, including a challenge from Aaron Cresswell on Jordan Henderson that was not shown a red card.
Klopp was also displeased about West Ham’s opening goal, which came from a corner. He felt his goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, was fouled by a defender.
“It was a clear foul on Alisson,” said Klopp. “How can that not be a foul? Every goalkeeper in the world needs some protection but instead they can be feeling the loneliest player on the pitch.
“Ogbonna hits the arm of Alisson, that is a decisive piece of the body of the goalkeeper. How it cannot be a foul I don’t know but we have to accept these things. If we got something we would have deserved it but we didn’t get it so we accept the defeat.”
Klopp then went on to criticise Pawson for relying on VAR when making decisions. When asked whether referees are using VAR as a back-up, the Reds boss said: “Not all refs, but he does. He just looks at the situation and says, ‘okay, let’s see what they say’. He did that today, definitely. There is a problem because they don’t give a foul but then the VAR has to look for a clear and obvious mistake.”
READ NEXT:
-
Liverpool might have dropped biggest Jude Bellingham hint yet
- Liverpool youngster labelled 'super' by Jurgen Klopp fires first senior goal
- Liverpool free signing tipped to be 'next Teddy Sheringham' before ridicule and wife hitting back at critics
- Jurgen Klopp has already hinted at what role Harvey Elliott will play for Liverpool
- Darwin Nunez lands major award as he prepares to meet Liverpool team-mates
