Liverpool manager Klopp to face nemesis ONE MORE TIME as officials announced

Jurgen Klopp will have to face one of his most bitter rivals one more time before he gives up his job as Liverpool manager, with referee Simon Hooper taking charge of the German’s penultimate Premier League game. 

Hooper will be the man in the middle for the Reds’ Monday night visit to Villa Park in order to take on Champions League-chasing Aston Villa in the English top flight. 

Assistant referees on the night will be Adrian Holmes and Tim Wood, with Tim Robinson on fourth official duties and VAR being manned by Chris Kavanagh and assisted by Mark Scholes. 

Klopp has been engaged in a long-running feud with the matchday official this season, ever since the shocking decision to send off Curtis Jones against Tottenham back in September - the same game in which Luis Diaz’s perfectly legitimate strike was ruled offside following a bizarre VAR check. 

That game was one of MANY this season in which Liverpool suffered from terrible officiating but the Merseysiders’ dissatisfaction with Hooper stretches back even further. 

He was in charge last April when Manchester City beat Liverpool 4-1 at the Etihad, after which Liverpool were charged by the FA for improper conduct. 

READ MORE: How Liverpool have been SHAFTED by referees this season

Despite already being booked only moments earlier, City midfielder Rodri hacked down Cody Gakpo on a breakaway in the 34th minute but the referee opted to keep his red card in his pocket. 

That decision enraged Liverpool’s players, with the score locked at 1-1, in a game that was ultimately surrendered to Pep Guardiola’s side. 

Klopp had flashbacks to the Spurs game last month when he spotted Hooper on the sidelines conducting fourth official duties during the Merseyside Derby, lost 2-0 by the Reds at Goodison Park. 

“Only the other night was the first time since Tottenham that Simon Hooper was standing next to me for 90 minutes in a game I didn’t enjoy in the first place against Everton,” he said. 

“I tried to get it out of my head and couldn’t.”

Liverpool play Villa on Monday before Klopp’s Anfield swansong, against Wolves on May 19.