Sadio Mane ban appeal was a waste of time, says Liverpool manager Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that the appeal on Sadio Mane's red card to reduce the tenure of the suspension from three matches was a waste of time in every sense of the word. The appeal was duly rejected by the Football Association on Tuesday (September 12).

The 25-year-old kicked Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes in the head on Saturday and was immediately given his marching orders by referee Jon Moss, whose decision sparked mass debates in the football world. Ederson had to be carried off on a stretcher after the incident but has fortunately not suffered any serious injuries and will be back in action in a fortnight's time, according to manager Pep Guardiola.

Mane is still available to play in Liverpool's Champions League group stage opener against La Liga outfit Sevilla on Wednesday but he will now miss his side's Premier League clashes against Burnley and Leicester City, as well as the Carabao Cup tie with the Foxes next week.

"I didn't expect something different," said the Liverpool manager, as quoted by the Express. "It was really our duty to appeal. But it was a waste of time obviously. Our appeal was right because I could say if we would appealed the red card but we didn't.

"We only appealed the length of the suspension. I never thought it would happen but only because I am used to it to things like this. There were a lot of situations which were similar. All the other players were lucky only Sadio was not lucky. And obviously Ederson was not lucky. It looks really awful and he was also lucky nothing more serious happened."

"We cannot change this and it's a sport where this happens. It's like it is. I don't blame the ref for the decision. If I saw the boy bleeding I would have made the same decision. But one game less would have been right, two and a half, not three and half."