Arne Slot has made his feelings clear on the conduct of Liverpool supporters since the death of Diogo Jota and his brother
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot (L) talks to Liverpool's Portuguese striker #20 Diogo Jota during the pre-season friendly football match between Liverpool and Sevilla at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, northwest England on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Peter POWELL / AFP) (Photo by PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arne Slot still gets emotional thinking about Diogo Jota and his family(Image: Peter Powell, AFP via Getty Images)
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An emotional Arne Slot has praised the behaviour of Liverpool fans and the club's owners since the death of Diogo Jota. The Reds and the broader football community were sent into mourning last summer when Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, died in a car crash in Spain.
After the heartbreaking news was confirmed, touching tributes were quickly placed around Anfield as supporters grappled with the loss of the hugely popular forward. Eight months after his passing, tributes to Jota persist, both visual and in chants.
There were particularly poignant moments when Liverpool welcomed Jota's former club, Wolves, in December, with members of his family present. The sides meet again on Tuesday night and in the FA Cup on Friday.
For Slot, who faced the challenge of preparing a grieving squad for a new season, the responses of the fans, players, and the club in general will remain with him forever. Speaking earlier this season, he told Ally McCoist on TNT Sports: "The way the fans conducted themselves after that tragedy, how many flowers there were, all the memorials, I can almost get emotional thinking about it.
"It's unbelievable what our fans have done and our players as well, the way they have conducted themselves in and around the funeral. And then we have to train again."
Slot said Jota's widow and children were never distant from his thoughts, adding: "There are moments where I feel, 'What must his wife and his children feel now?'
"It sounds so hard but our life continues. People expect from me that I prepare them forever and that sometimes feels a bit difficult, knowing how hard it is for the family and for the parents in the phase they are still going through and will go through for the rest of their lives."
Liverpool fans' tribute to Diogo Jota
One of the many Jota tributes by Reds fans since the striker's passing(Image: Michael Steele, Getty Images)
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Slot also offered praise for the Reds' owners, Fenway Sports Group, who vowed to pay the remaining two years of Jota's contract to his family. He said: "Owners are mainly criticised, like managers, but the way they've handled this situation by paying his wife and his children all the money from the contract is. Maybe people think it's normal, but it is not in football."
The Reds journey to Molineux twice within 72 hours due to a scheduling anomaly, with the league fixture followed by the fifth round clash.
While still rooted to the bottom and facing the drop, Rob Edwards' improving side should provide Liverpool with a test, having drawn with Arsenal and defeated Aston Villa recently.
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