Autobiography

extra time and the score at 1-1, young Andy
Johnson was brought down in the penalty area.
It was the most obvious penalty of all time, but
referee David Elleray waved play on. The entire
country watching on television, and everyone
in the stadium, was convinced it was the most
blatant penalty they had ever seen, but to the
relief of every Liverpool fan the experienced
Harrow schoolteacher just ignored it and
waved play on. We were into penalties once
again, and this time we lost 5–4 as Sander
Westerveld saved from the unfortunate Andy
Johnson.
A few weeks later at a press conference I was
asked what I thought of Elleray’s decision. I
said I felt it was the worst in history and I
wondered how the directors of Liverpool
Football Club could sleep in their beds knowing
that they had stolen goods on their premises. I
went on to suggest that under the
circumstances they should let us have the cup
to display for six months at Birmingham. It
was all tongue-in-cheek and no harm was
meant, but the next time we played Liverpool
in an FA Cup match in January 2002, I
received a frosty welcome in the boardroom
from the chairman, David Moores, and chief
executive Rick Parry. I had meant the
comment as a joke, but they clearly hadn’t
seen the funny side. After our promotion to the
Premier League we played host to the Liverpool
board in our non-smoking directors’ dining
room, and as a peace offering I gave David
Moores permission to smoke – the only person
ever to be given such a concession. We are
now firm friends.
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