He said 99% of his players had been vaccinated.
Jurgen Klopp has spoken of his dismay at people who refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and does not understand why people see it as a “limitation of freedom.”
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his Liverpool side’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday, the German manager said that “99%” of his players had been vaccinated and he did not have to convince anyone to get the jab.
Klopp went on to suggest that refusing to get vaccinated was the same as drink driving, comparing the logic of the two situations and how they put others at risk as well as yourself.
He said: “I don’t take the vaccination only to protect me, I take the vaccination to protect everyone around me, and I don’t understand why that is a limitation of freedom.
“Because if it is, then not being allowed to drink and drive is a limitation of freedom as well – but we accept that.”
He went on to question the logic of not being able to ask people if they have been vaccinated, saying: “We are not allowed to ask people if they are vaccinated, I’m allowed to ask a taxi driver ‘are you drunk?’ If he says ‘well I don’t have to tell you’ then I say ‘okay I don’t have to drive with you.’
“If I show up in the office and I’m drunk then I can sent home or sacked. But we are not allowed to ask people [if they are vaccinated]. I don’t understand.
“I got the vaccination because I was concerned about myself but even more so for everyone else around me.
“If I get it and suffer – my fault. If I get it and spread it around to everyone else – my fault and not their fault.”
.@LFC manager Jurgen Klopp providing the social conscience which appears increasingly absent elsewhere (2/2) pic.twitter.com/dDqcwe2O9a
— Carl Markham (@carlmarkham) October 2, 2021
The Liverpool boss added that it was a “natural decision from the team” to get vaccinated.
His comments come after the news that the Premier League is considering rewarding clubs for having high Covid vaccination rates. According to the Premier League, only seven clubs have squads that are more than 50% vaccinated.
Last week, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said it was not his place to tell players to get vaccinated.
Related links:
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Unvaccinated Premier League players face exclusion from plans to relax red-list rules
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Premier League to tell fans to ‘stay away’ unless they’re double-jabbed
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Steven Taylor retires from football over Covid impacts
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