Police are currently investigating whether Sterling was abused during the first half of Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday while retrieving the ball for a corner.
Sterling did not react to the alleged abuse at the time of the incident, but wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday that he ”had to laugh” as he expected “no better”.
The former Liverpool winger also claimed that British newspapers are helping to “fuel racism” by the manner in which they portray young black footballers.
Klopp hailed Sterling’s mid-game reaction as “brilliant” and insisted that anyone guilty of racially abusing players should be punished by the authorities.
Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings
Show all 23
“Well, I watched the game obviously and I saw the situation when Raheem went for the corner,” the Liverpool manager said. “I saw a few guys shouting. I don’t think it was possible to hear what they were shouting, I didn’t hear it.
“I already thought his reaction was just brilliant. You saw his face. He gave the right response – not to react to these people. They haven’t earned any reaction, they don’t deserve any respect or whatever.
“I’m obviously not surprised that things like this still happen. It will not stop now only because we talk about it, but I like the fact that we put a finger on it. You cannot say what you want, it’s not possible.”
Ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Napoli at Anfield on Tuesday night, Klopp drew a parallel with the treatment of Kevin-Prince Boateng, who walked off the pitch after suffering racist abuse while playing for Milan during a friendly against Pro Patria in 2013.
“We’ve had a similar situation in Germany, in other countries as well. In Italy, with Boateng stopped the game because of what people shouted from the stands,” Klopp said. “They need to be punished. As long as people are silly enough to do stuff like this they need to be punished.
“What I like is that – I’m not sure but 95 per cent or more of the people are not like this, so we should try to find the right amount of tension. Yes, punish them but don’t talk too much about them because they don’t deserve to be talked about.”
Register for free to continue reading
Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism
By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists
Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism
By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists
Join our new commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies