Arne Slot's honest six-word remark as Liverpool boss hit with huge FA fine and touchline ban

Liverpool manager Arne Slot confessed that emotions got the better of him before his two-match touchline ban following a red card in the clash against Everton.

The final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park this month ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw, with James Tarkowski's late goal securing a point for the jubilant Toffees.

Post-match tensions escalated, however, resulting in Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure receiving second yellow cards, while Slot was sent off after confronting referee Michael Oliver.

The aftermath of the derby has led to Slot being banned for two games and fined £70,000. Before this punishment was issued, the Dutchman admitted emotions had clouded his judgement.

"Emotions got the better of me," Slot confessed two weeks prior to his ban being imposed. "If I could do it differently, If I look back at it, I would love to do it differently. I would do it (differently) next time as well.

"Many things in extra times I was upset with. There was a VAR check for minutes, and I thought the only thing he could look at was the foul, and then I was happy because I thought maybe it's offside! Of course then after 10 minutes you hear their fans cheering.. so many things happened. But it wouldn't be smart to go into every single incident.

"It felt immediately after the referee blew that we lost two points. But in the other 98 minutes, I didn't feel constantly like we were going to win the game. It felt like an equal game, and a draw would have been a fair result. But with us leading after 97 minutes, we were quite close to winning, so it felt as if we lost two points."

With Slot's suspension now confirmed, the Liverpool manager will be absent from the touchline for their match against Newcastle on Wednesday evening and their journey to Southampton on March 8.

However, he will be present for his team's Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital next week, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The Dutchman had already admitted to the FA's charge of having "acted in an improper manner and/or used insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards both the match referee and an assistant referee."

An Independent Regulatory Commission has now decided on Slot's ban and fine, and also penalised his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff. Hulshoff has also received a two-match ban and a £7,000 fine after being dismissed alongside his colleague. Liverpool and Everton are further facing substantial fines of £65k and £50k, respectively, for failing to control their players during the derby.

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