Jurgen Klopp insisted his comments were taken out of context after he was embroiled in a fiery exchange with an angry journalist on Wednesday night.
The Liverpool manager, following his side's 2-0 win against Porto, was called up on what he said on Tuesday when he described the African Cup of Nations a 'little tournament' while talking about international breaks.
Yet on Wednesday the journalist, speaking via video link to Klopp, demanded an apology and believed Klopp would never say a 'little tournament in Europe' - yet the German moved to defend his comments as he referred to losing the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to the event starting in January.