When asked about the coronavirus on Tuesday, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp gave a viral response addressing widespread misinformation on the virus that touched on celebrity culture.
“Just asking as a wider question about the coronavirus. Are you worried as a team or as a club about the spread of it or how it might affect you?” a reporter asked Klopp following Liverpool’s defeat to rival team Chelsea.
“Look, what I don’t like in life is that a very serious thing, a football manager’s opinion is important,” Klopp responded. “I don’t understand that. I really don’t understand it.”
“I could ask you, you’re in exactly the same role as I am, and it’s not important,” the manager told the reporter. “But famous people, famous people say — No, we have to speak about things in the right manner, not people with no knowledge, like me, talking about something.”
“People with knowledge will talk about it,” he continued, “and should tell the people, do this, do that, do this, and everything will be fine, or not. Not football managers.”
“I don’t understand it,” concluded Klopp. “Politics? Coronavirus? Why me? I wear a base cap and have a bad shave.”
As noted by RedState, information about the coronavirus has saturated the internet, making it exceedingly difficult for the public to understand the real risks and proper precautions. “Part of the reason for that, of course, is because there are people being asked to comment or otherwise make observations about the disease who have no business doing so,” RedState’s Elizabeth Vaughn writes, noting that Democratic politicians have used the disease as a political tool against Republicans and President Trump.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said earlier this week on Fox News that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) withheld a funding bill “so the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) could run ads against seven Republicans.”
“How many people ran ads on the coronavirus, fundraising appeals?” asked Fox host Laura Ingraham.
“I don’t know how many ran, but they actually took the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, spent money, went into these seven Republican seats to campaign against them about the coronavirus when she’s the Speaker of the House. Instead of putting America first, she put her politics first and kept the bill from coming to the floor,” McCarthy said.
Klopp’s remark about “famous people” incessantly being asked about political dealings or serious issues like coronavirus would likely be praised by the likes of British comedian Ricky Gervais, MarketWatch noted Wednesday.
“Add Ricky Gervais to the list of those who would surely appreciate Klopp’s resistance to wading into the fray on matters outside his expertise, considering the comedian’s epic opening speech at the Golden Globes earlier this year,” the outlet noted.
“You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything,” Gervais famously said at the Globes. “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So if you win, come up accept your little award, thank your agent, and your god and f*** off.”
WATCH:
Soccer coach is asked about coronavirus, gives fantastic response. pic.twitter.com/nIgS8OmZcm
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 4, 2020