Guardian.Com
Liverpool's supporters have sought to restore their reputation for
sporting behaviour by wishing Alan Smith a full recovery from the
terrible injuries he suffered in Saturday's FA Cup tie at Anfield.
Smith has indicated from hospital he does not harbour any bad
feelings, the Manchester United player choosing to remember the
Kop's standing ovation rather than their chant to John Arne Riise
of "I want to know how you broke his leg".
Smith, who is making satisfactory progress from a broken left leg
and dislocated ankle, has received several hundred letters,
including one from the Merseyside branch of the Liverpool
supporters' club. "I just feel some of the headlines since Saturday
have told only part of the story," the club secretary Les Lawson
said last night. "Yes, that song was sung when he first went down
but it was tongue-in-cheek because everyone expected him to get
back up. Even Sir Alex Ferguson said he had no idea how badly
injured Smith was. Nobody really thought it possible that someone
could be badly hurt trying to block a free-kick. Once it became
apparent, however, everyone stopped singing and the whole ground
stood to applaud him when he was taken off. Nobody wants to see a
player seriously injured."
Although they stop short of saying sorry, the letter to Smith
wishes him a full recovery from "all Liverpool supporters". Lawson
added: "We hope he's playing again soon. If he needs any
inspiration he should look at Djibril Cissé, who suffered a
horrific injury a couple of years ago but is now back
playing."
Rio Ferdinand is in doubt for United's Carling Cup final meeting
with Wigan on Sunday because of the hamstring strain that forced
him out of the Liverpool game.
Players injured by fouls that incur yellow cards may no longer have
to leave the pitch as a result of a rule-change initiative by the
head of England's referees. Keith Hackett has teamed with the
League Managers' Association and the players' union, the PFA, to
submit a proposal to the International Football Association Board
which meets in Switzerland on March 4.
The need for treated players to leave the pitch before being
recalled once the game restarts was introduced to curb time-wasting
and gamesmanship but often punishes the wronged party twice.
