Slot says Ekitike was ‘stupid’ to get sent off against Southampton – and suggests celebration was selfish | OneFootball

Liverpool boss Arne Slot slammed Hugo Ekitike’s decision to take his shirt off in celebration of his winner and receive a second yellow card as “stupid”.

Ekitike tapped in from close range from Federico Chiesa’s pass to secure a 2-1 win for his side in the Carabao Cup third round.

But having already been booked for punching the ball away in frustration, he then received another one for taking his shirt off during his celebration.

It means he is now suspended for the weekend’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

“It was needless and it was stupid,” Slot said after the game.

“The first one was already needless and to a certain extent, stupid, because you have to control your emotions.

“And I know how hard it is if you’re a number nine. A defender can do everything he wants and then if you shirt pull a little bit or push them a little bit you get a free-kick against you.

“But it’s always best to control your emotions and if you can’t control your emotions, just do it in a way that doesn’t lead to a yellow card.

“I think I said when I got my red card against Everton, that’s always stupid, because you can show your emotions but if it leads to a yellow or red card it’s stupid.

“And that’s what happened with the first yellow.

“Then I told him as well and said it to numerous media already, if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand ‘this is all about me, what did I do?’

“But I’m old fashioned. I’m 47 and old, maybe. I haven’t played at this level but I have scored a few goals and if I would have scored a goal like this, I would have turned around and walked up to, in this situation, Federico Chiesa and say ‘this goal is all about you, this is not about me’.

“So yeah, needless, not smart. You called it stupid. I call it stupid, by the way.”