Arne Slot on Touchline Ban as Liverpool Prepare to Take On Southampton

Today at 10:00 AM

The Reds' boss says touchline bans in England are less onerous than in the Netherlands—even if he never had to serve one there.

When Liverpool face off against Southampton in their League Cup quarter final later today, it will be without head coach Arne Slot on the bench with the manager serving a touchline ban after picking up his third yellow of the season against Fulham on the weekend.

Slot, though, doesn't expect the suspension to cause any major issues for his side, and pointed out that while he was never hit with a touchline ban while in the Dutch league, the punishment in England is milder than there as well as in some other continental leagues.

"If you're suspended in Holland you are not allowed to be in and around the dressing room, you cannot do the media," Slot noted at his pre-match press conference. "So this is a lighter version of a suspension I would say, but I've never been suspended so it's the first time.

"I think I'm still able to do the things I want. The moment you have the less impact on your team is during the game and the most impact you have is at half-time or before the game, and those are things I can still do. But in an ideal situation I would be on the sideline."

There were some questions as to whether Slot's touchline ban would apply to league games or be able to be served in the League Cup, but he will be back in his usual place on the bench for Sunday's Premier League clash on the road when the Reds face Tottenham

Then, a very brief Christmas break sees Slot's table topping Reds return to action on Boxing Day, December 26th, with a match at home against Leicester City before closing out the calendar year back out on the road with a visit to West Ham on December 29th.