Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp defended his Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah after he was criticised for being awarded a penalty in the game against West Ham last Saturday, where Liverpool won 2-1 in the seventh round of the English Premier League.

West Ham coach David Moyes was upset after the penalty given to Salah, describing it as a “dive.”

"It’s not the sort of football I want to be involved in. I think our player stops and throws his arms up because he’s so disappointed about the dive," said Moyes.

Meanwhile the 53-year-old German Liverpool coach backed his player, assuring that it was a foul.

"It was pretty much for everybody who saw the situation. Believe it or not, yesterday morning I spoke to Mo about how he feels and he has exactly three proper knocks on the foot – and one of them is from the penalty situation," Klopp told Liverpool official website.

“That’s how it is. There’s a knock, then you go down or not, whatever; sometimes the refs whistle it. We don’t talk that long about penalties we don’t get, to be honest, in other games. But obviously now two days after the game we talk about that," he added.

The Reds will face Italy's Atalanta in the 3rd round of the UEFA Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)