LORIS KARIUS has revealed he is still in torment about receiving vile death threats – almost two years after his Champions League nightmare.
The Liverpool keeper was blamed for two Real Madrid goals as Jurgen Klopp’s side lost the 2018 final 3-1 in Kiev.
Karius made two huge blunders in the Champions League finalCredit: AP:Associated Press
Karius was promptly shipped out to Turkish side Besiktas on a two-year loan.
The German is under contract at Anfield until 2022, but is now considering a move to a Bundesliga club.
The 26-year-old said: “You can’t blame fans for booing a player. They pay their money and have the right to be angry.
“But they cross the line when it comes to personal abuse and death threats.
“I’ve had death threats myself at times. I can’t take them seriously – they’re sent from people who don’t even show their face on their profile.
“If I met them in the street they wouldn’t open their mouths.
“Players are treated with extreme hostility on the internet. If I read everything that was written about me I wouldn’t sleep for two days.
“It is madness what people write under the cover of anonymity. They’ll come out with the foulest abuse, discrimination and racism.
“I was playing in a Champions League final aged just 24, but my part in getting us there and all my good saves were forgotten in an instant.
They cross the line when it comes to personal abuse and death threats
Loris Karius
“People’s reactions were completely excessive and disrespectful, and they went on for so long.
“My mistakes were unfairly and abnormally compared with others.
“In hindsight I should have gone on the offensive a lot more. I was concussed by a blow from Sergio Ramos, which limited my 3D vision.
“A world-leading brain specialist examined me, and later confirmed this. Initially I was just glad to have found out what was wrong.
“But when the result of the examination came out I got a lot of malice and abuse, much of it well below the belt.
“I never used my injury as an excuse. But for people to joke about me getting a severe head injury is something I can’t understand at all.”
German magazine SportBild asked former Mainz star Karius if he fancies a return to his home country.
He said: “I’ve had great success in the Bundesliga, and always enjoyed it. The country has always done very well at football.
“But a move back has to make sense. A club has to really want me, to have a clear vision, and both it and myself have to possess that absolute drive for success.
The German shot stopper revealed he still receives death threatsCredit: Getty – Contributor
“Above all I have to have a good feeling about its management.
“I’m in weekly contact with Liverpool’s goalkeeping coach, John Achterberg. He’s my first point of contact.
“But I also exchange messages with Jurgen Klopp now and then. I’m in good touch with everyone at the club – they’ve never left me out in the cold.”
Joe Hart set to be handed career lifeline by Besiktas as Turkish club look to send back Loris Karius
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
