Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he agrees "100 percent" that managers should treat officials with respect but said outbursts are inevitable because "a manager is still a human being."
Following Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Tuesday, Klopp said he had vented at fourth official Neil Swarbrick after the Blues were awarded a late penalty but then apologised. He said the official then told him: "No problem, I like your passion."
Jose Mourinho questioned Klopp's lack of punishment, and the Liverpool boss, who has accepted he was fortunate to avoid action, said he fully supports fining bosses who overstep the mark.
Asked if he has a duty to treat referees with respect, Klopp said: "I agree 100 percent. The problem is only that to know about it doesn't change the moment.
"That is why we accept the fines. To say we will never do anything like that last game -- in this mood I can say '100 percent I won't do it' but it would be a lie to give a guarantee that it would never happen again.
"That's why there are fines for it. If a reaction is too much then give us a fine. A fine hurts and that's good."
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was last week handed a four-match touchline ban for pushing fourth official Anthony Taylor while, at the grassroots level, referees recently threatened a strike over the abuse they receive during games.
Klopp rejected the suggestion that Premier League managers were responsible for setting an example for those in amateur leagues, saying the pressure is "completely different" in the professional game.
"If someone from a fifth, sixth or seventh league thinks that 'because a manager in the Premier League does this, I can do that,' that is wrong," he said. "It is a completely different situation. They have another job to do, it is more for fun -- all that stuff.
"It is not that we have the character to want to have a go at the referee. Do you think Arsene Wenger is the kind of person who, when he sees the fourth official, thinks 'I'm going to punch him' or whatever? That is not how he is and everybody knows it -- it happens because of the circumstances and not the personality. Circumstances are pretty special and we all have a kind of pressure.
"We all know football is not the most important thing but try telling us that in this moment. In the moment it is unfortunately not true. There is no excuse and that is why there are fines for if you do too much or you are sent to the stands, or banned for three games. I don't like it if it happens but I have to accept it. It is my fault but that is not to say I can stop it."
He added: "Behind a manager is still a human being and we are all weak in parts. A few of these weaknesses lead to difficult situations and it is not because we are disrespectful. We know how difficult it is."
Klopp said he told Swarbrick that "nobody can beat us!" after Diego Costa missed the penalty in Tuesday's game, despite Liverpool's recent defeats to Southampton, Wolves and Swansea.
"Nobody can beat us? I never heard a more silly sentence after three defeats," he said. "And I looked at how I looked. I was really lucky in the way the fourth official reacted and I hope he didn't get in trouble because of how he reacted. That was a reaction from a human being and as a result I could finish the game on the touchline."