Liverpool caretaker boss Phil Thompson has blasted defender Jamie Carragher for being sent-off during today's 1-0 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Arsenal for hurling an object into the crowd. Carragher saw red in more ways than one when he was struck by a coin thrown from the stand as he prepared to take a free-kick. He picked it up and threw it back into the crowd, giving referee Mike Riley no option but to send him off for violent conduct.
Although Thompson was fuming with Carragher, he warned that it was only a matter of time before a player will get seriously hurt as there has been a notable increase in the number of incidents where objects are thrown on to the pitch at football matches all around Britain.
"Jamie said he was hit by a coin, and other objects were being thrown, which you cannot accept," said Thompson. "You cannot have these instances that are going on up and down the country. But, neither can Jamie do what he did; you cannot have that. Two wrongs do not make a right, and I have told him so."
"He let himself down, he let his team-mates down and he let the club down in doing that. He was angry and frustrated about getting hit by something, and what he did was out of character, but that still doesn't make it right, and I told him so. Jamie had responsibilities to his team-mates. Arsenal had just had two players sent off, so there is a need for calm heads. Whether or not Jamie is disciplined by the club is a private matter," he added.
"The thing that worries me greatly is the number of incidents where objects are thrown on to the pitch. People see it on the television and want to do it themselves, but it has to stop and everybody has to take responsibility. Somebody somewhere along the line is going to get hurt badly. An eye will be lost or something will happen," warned the Liverpool assistant manager.
Caragher later issued a public apology for letting down his club, the fans, his team-mates and himself for throwing the coin back into the crowd. "No matter what the physical or verbal provocation, I shouldn't have reacted like that and I want to apologise for any offence I've caused," read the statement which was released on Liverpool's official website. "I was frustrated and I did it without thinking in the heat of the moment. Everyone who has seen me play regularly will realise that it was completely out of character, but I'm not trying to make excuses. It was wrong and, as a professional footballer, I should have known better. It's a mistake that I won't make again."
Meanwhile, the Football Association are considering whether to launch their own investigation into the incident after Arsenal appealed to supporters for help in identifying the person responsible so that he or she can be banned for life from the club.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
