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Jurgen Klopp accused referee Bobby Madley of not giving Philippe Coutinho sufficient protection in Liverpool's 2-1 win over Leicester City in the final of the Premier League Asia Trophy.

The Reds boss was involved in a heated exchange with the Wakefield official midway through the first half in Hong Kong after Coutinho had been on the receiving end of some rough treatment.

Madley threatened to send Klopp to the stand unless he cooled down.

"Even in the pre-season and even though it's a Premier League tournament, we should talk about this," Klopp said.

"I was not too happy about two decisions around Phil Coutinho, 100%.

"He (Madley) told me that if I behave like I behaved today then I would have to go in the stands. I said: 'If I behave like today then I go in the stand, no problem. But you have to change how you whistle'.

"That's the only thing. For me, it was a clear foul, 100%. It's dangerous. We had a similar situation at Wigan.

"What can I do? Write a letter? 'By the way, that's a foul so next time can you whistle?'

"It's a difficult game to whistle for refs, I know all this. But these things are obvious for me and that's why I thought it would be nice if he could help the players a little bit more.

"These players make the difference and these players bring people into the stadium. That's why we have to look after them a little bit."