Burning the US Flag is wrong, it is not the Liverpool Way

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I read this disturbing story on the Telegraph and must say I am in shock.

We all dislike Tom Hicks and George Gillett, but burning the U.S. flag is out of order, there are thousands of Liverpool Supporters in the U.S.A. (Including myself) who are outraged by this. Watching our club being destroyed is already hard enough but now on top of it we now have to deal with this. The U.S. flag is a sacred symbol for all Americans and it is not fair to inflict this on us.

The picture shows three morons participating in the flag burning so we should not panic, every country has it’s morons (hey we have Hicks & Gillett) but we should still condemn this behaviour. Some of the media is reporting that Spirit of Shankly members were responsible for the flag burning however the march was not even organised by Spirit of Shankly so it is obvious they (the media) are using this story to fuel more flames.

@saveliverpoolfc is planning to organise a protest march on the 4th of July dubbed as LFC Independence Day to coincide with the US Independence Holiday. I have now publicly urged the group to reconsider this protest as all it will do is create more animosity.

The U.S.A. is not destroying Liverpool F.C. only Tom Hicks and George Gillett are.

Y.N.W.A.

-Antoine

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93 Comments

  1. I AGREE! PLEASE do not coincide with the American holiday! Our 4th of July holds a lot of meaning, and to hold a protest against Americans on this day would add more fuel to the fire, as you pointed out.

  2. Yea I agree that burning the flag may be a tad excessive, but I doubt the idea behind it was just to state that they don’t want an American Owner… or just as a gesture that they don’t like Hicks and Gillet so wanted to do something that would catch their eyes in particular.

    Well thats how I see it anywho. I’m not saying its something I’d do but if it’s under those circumstances then I can understand.

    However truth be told, those 3 people could of been doing it in a general distaste of the USA inwhich case they would be complete idiots

  3. Thank you Antoine. Finally someone speaking out against this. Flag burning sends a terrible message. And is a little bit extreme for the circumstances.

    Seeing as most flag burning takes place at political protests regarding war when LIVES are at stake.

    It just disgusts me to see this as it hurts the image of LFC in the US and if any news gets out about this over here, then it will definitely hamper the growth of soccer.

  4. no you are right tottaly wrong there is many good Americans out there just cos the two that own LFC are prats dont give reason to burn a flag, how many English LFC fans hate Lampard….. would you burn the English flag cos you hate him no you would not

    I am sorry for the people of USA for this bad dumb and stupid behavior of some fans

  5. well if thats what it takes to get them out i couldnt care less, BURN IT UP!!!!!

    GET OUT YANKY COWBOYS!!!!!

  6. RE: Jason

    YES MATE!! Great message, sent in the best way. getting H&G out isn’t enough – we have to get rid of all U.S. influence in our game: H&G, Glazers & Landon Donovan? ’nuff said

  7. Its a flag, get over it, were not burning people! its a symbol connected to hick and gillett I hope it pisses them right off!

  8. Don’t think Rafa would approve of this either. The flag was probably made in China though.

  9. Have to agree with you boys…burning your flag i just pitiful. Don’t take it personally, these people are moronic turds of humans. They should have burned flags with H&G’s faces on.

  10. Antoine, you know that this is not directed at the American nation just 2 people. Your country is great but two of your citizens have raped this great club of ours and this is a war after today end of story. Surely you can think objectively about this?

  11. alot of very angry fans today…the flag been burnt was a message to hicks and gillett, this shouldn’t be taken as an act against america, its against them 2 cowboys end of

  12. Yea I agree that burning the flag may be a excessive.
    geting two yanks and wrapping them in it fist, is much better use of the flag

  13. I think you should understand these things will happen if for whatever reason you decide to support a team that isn’t even in your own country. Its good that there are fans all over the world for money, shirt sales etc but no one there cares about you especially at a time like this. What would you know about the liverpool way if your from not just another city but another country. This is the gayest thing I have ever seen.

  14. I, like the vast majority of Liverpool F.C supporters, am desperate to see the back of Hicks an Gillet and strongly support the right of any fan to demonstrate against them. The burning of the flag of any nation however is absolutely disgraceful and does nothing to encourage sympathy and support for the cause. Those individuals responsible should be ashamed of their actions and all honourable and decent supporters should distance themselves from them.

  15. So whivh flag/shirt is next? Gerrard (again) when he leaves, Torres, Masch? The only way people will invest in the cub is if they think they aren’t going to get killed in the media. We’re killing everyone in the media. No-one will invest whilst we continue these acts.

  16. a burning flag,something the usa are fairly familiar with….
    the whole scenario is typical of the yanks
    out to make a quick buck,ignoring{or not giving a shit} about the consequences.me me me
    yeah,i agree,flag burning is a little excessive,but the ‘states are well used to this.dont start crying wolf now,have a little dignity and hold your hand up.
    ‘youre going to reap just what you sowe….’

  17. Yanks should forget about soccer as you call it

    It is football and most Americans don’t care about it like we don’t care about baseball. So get out of Liverpool and stay out.

  18. I understand the flag burning, as it is a way to symbolize H & G. I also feel that it is excessive, as the entire United States is not to blame. S.o.S. Has worked well with U.S. LFC Supporters clubs (Stephen Cohen situation) recently, and to condemn an entire nation seems a bit shortsighted.
    In short, blame the numpties. Not the nation.

  19. What ever happend to “Support and believe”? Burning the flag was a sick thing to do, and has nothing to do with beeing an supporter.

  20. As much as we all do not like what the americans have done to our great club i agree and the USA flag should not be burnt like it was, all Americans are not tared with the same brush as Hicks & Gillett and it should be them that are targetted not the USA.

  21. i am a life long lfc fan from a few miles away from anfield and there are no excuses for burning the flag like that it is disgraceful. hicks and gillet have put the club up for sale we have to show some patience. the so called fans protesting and burning flags are the fans that have give us a bad reputation in the past they should go along with the owners.

  22. Antoine

    I’d like to think that the flag burning was just aimed at G&H, nothing more.

    To my mind, its more of a distaste to the whole private equity market (and indeed its lack of place in the football world) than anything against the US.

    It is not the Liverpool way, and I do not support it (but I hope G&H suffer massively for what they have done to my most beloved institution).

  23. Has the way the manager been repeatedly lied to and cheated of funds time and time again and then sent away the Liverpool way? The two clowns have no self respect. They simply can’t afford that because that with their unlimted greed can’t go together. Supporters are not dealing with normal owners here. So burning the flags is symbolic of the level of hatred the supporters have towards them and their local stooge in Purslow. Nothing to do with being anti-American. Telling lies and making deliberate flase promises has also not been the Liverpool way. So let’s cut out the high moral ground and deal with low life ceatures in the way they derseve!!!

  24. As a liverpool fan it did seem a bit o.t.t but you must understand supporting Liverpool fc is like a religion to us “more than life and death itself”.
    We are the best and most loyal fans in the world but when someone crosses our path and tries to hurt us and our sacred club we simmer and simmer until it gets too much then all hell is unleashed.

    we have nothing against American people but everythig against H & G and what they stand for and if they think this will die down they are so very very wrong.

  25. Completely agree. Come on guys, we are better than this. This is why the sacking of a manager who many felt had had his time still feels like a heartbreak… Liverpool mangagers retire, they don’t get sacked. We are Liverpool, this is not anti US, it’s anti hicks and gilette. Show class. Protests with manners and peacefully. Becuase you reap what you sow. Outsiders don’t understand but LFC has always been a class apart. Let’s remain so. Even in defeat and despair. For the glory shall be ours again..

  26. Why would we cancel the event planned for the 4th July because of people thousands of miles away being ‘offended’ by it.
    The flag burning was sound as well and got our message across, the gloves are off now and you’re either with us or against us.

  27. Problem is these idiots don’t think of it as anything more than representing H and G so they burn it as a protest against those two tumours. If a US benefactor as rich as the Man City owners came along they’d welcome them with open arms. The intent was not to insult America it was to condemn H and G. Unfortunately they are not far sighted enough to see they wouldn’t achieve that. So, misguided and stupid but not evil. As opposed to Hicks and Gillette who fall into all three categories. Burning effegies of H and G or better still the real thing would have been more appropriate.

  28. Such idiots who cant respect a country, (Even if its USA) should be dealt with the law.
    Such acts might even scare-off possible suitors who are interested in buying the club..

  29. Flag burning here is symbolic of the Vietnam war where thousands of our brothers and friends came home from there in body bags. It goes much deeper than the mismanagement of a football club. And to parallel the two is ridiculous.

    However, I can see where most people are coming from, aiming it at H&G. But it will get skewed in the media and paint a terrible picture over a club already in deep crisis.

    Overall, It sends the wrong message, and anyone that doesn’t think so obviously does not see the significance.

  30. Rafa has been kicked out because he stood up against the YANKS and had LFCs best interests at heart. He has been treated terribly. They wanted him out from the very beginning. I wish he’d stayed but he basically had no choice.
    So I don’t believe burning the US flag was excessive. Fire bombing RBS branches because they finance the yanks. Now that would be excessive

  31. I must say that I really appreciate all the sanity, perspective and rationality towards those commentators rejecting burning the American Flag in protest today. As an American and as a decade long LFC supporter, I feel I have been just as troubled with the developments this year like many others. Frankly it really has been going on since the “honeymoon” phase wore off when Hicks and Gillet took over the club. The economic downturn and the reds failure to win the league last year plus a disappointing champions league run certainly didn’t help. We lost Xabi and it was clear we needed help up front with the loss of Crouch and Bellamy over the last couple of. We got Glen Johnson and Aqualani who I believe both will be great additions to the club. Clearly we need help in a couple of areas of our team but we have quality in the side and a great legacy which gains praise from many around the world. It is obvious that Hicks and Gillet’s tenure at the club has been tenuous at best. They financed the club by borrowing heavily. As I said the economic downturn only made things bubble up quicker, in the end I am glad that they are looking to sell and frankly I can not see why the team can not be bought by a responsible owner/s who have a good blueprint for moving forward which must include a new stadium and 20 to 30 million a year for transfers plus whatever is recouped from sales. I am not saying that the team must spend that much every year but when a manager identifies a player whom he believes can help improve the quality of the team then he needs to be able to do that quickly. Of course this is all supposing the player and/or club wants a transfer. Frankly I am not sure where the clubs fortunes are headed. Yes we are a great club. Yes these are difficult times for the worlds economy. I do not know of a manager at the moment who can get the kind of support that must be attained to move this club back to the perch.

    What I do know is that although i don’t find flag burning all that radical of an act, it does make me thing of people being burnt in effigy. You know like they do in the middle east and other places from time to time. Many of these incidents are used to incite hatred and animosity. It certainly does not make me proud as an american although I do understand how my country whose actions are sometimes over zealous can draw ire from the world community. But this is Liverpool FC, the house that Shankly built whom I perceive from this side of the pond as nothing but a class act with class members part of the organization. Burning the flag because of Hicks and Gillet is over the top and aimed poorly. Surely America is better than these two failed owners. I remember when they were originally up for sale and Robert Kraft was linked with LFC. He is the owner of the NFL New England Patriots. It is a class organization. Even Arsenal have a good American owner in Stan Kroenke, sorry to mention the gooners. Not all Americans are bad. I am sure that burning a flag was fun, lighting a camp fire is fun, shooting fireworks are fun, so it is pretty much established that fires are fun and will continue to be for humanity’s enjoyment. What if instead of lighting a fire if all the fans not in the KOP spelled out the words For Sale on one side and LFC is the Greatest on the other. I mean it may not be the best idea. Personally I like the idea of the fans owning the team similar to the USA NFL Green Bay Packers. You know if LFC is sold for around 600 million and has an extra 200 million on hand to start building the new stadium and squad investment then we would only need 10000 from 80000 fans/shareholders. Maybe fans could form groups to raise the money. LFC deserves better.

    Thank you Rafa. I though you were nothing but class. I realize you did not win as much as you would have liked to but Istanbul was great as was the FA cup. Last year was amazing as well. I wish you nothing but the best going forward. Let’s move forward.

  32. I have been an ardent supporter of LFC for twenty years and happen to live in the U.S. I’ve been to Anfield to see the Reds play on five occasions, including their great win over Real Madrid in March of last year.
    Any of you f–king morons who think that it is appropriate to burn United States flag, because the two current pathetic and disgraceful owners of Liverpool FC happen to be American, are, above all, showing your narrow-minded ignorance. Secondly, try to keep one little understandably awkward and inconvenient historic reality in mind, won’t you? (And I can appreciate the fact that you might wish that this were not true, but…sorry, mates…It is.) IF IT WEREN’T FOR THAT PARTICULAR FLAG WHICH YOU’RE SO IN FAVOR OF BURNING, LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB WOULD BE A MEMBER OF THE F–KING BUNDESLIGA!!! AND THERE WOULD BE A F–KING SWASTIKA FLYING OVER LIVERPOOL, INSTEAD OF A LIVERBIRD!!! AND DON’T EVER F–KING FORGET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  33. Ok How would us liverpool Supporters feel if because of this incident some Americans began burning the Liverpool flag, tarring all of us with the same brush as those who burnt their flag.We all know that the media will twist this into something huge.
    I believe when you are being seen to be a Liverpool supporter you should behave accordingly, we are the best supporters in the world and despite what is going on at the moment Liverpool F.C. is OUR Club so lets not let it down by doing things that look bad on all of us and in particular the Club itself.

    “Above all, I would like to be remembered as a man who was selfless, who strove and worried so that others could share the glory, and who built up a family of people who could hold their heads up high and say, ‘We’re Liverpool’.”Bill Shankly.

  34. THE FLAGBURNERS HAVE A RIGHT TO DO SO ,LFC IS A TRADITION ,A RELIGION THAT PEOPLE FROM LIVERPOOL FOLLOW ,SO WHEN FOREIGN POWERS THREATEN TO DESTROY THIS WAY OF LIFE IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE FOR PROUD SCOUSERS TO SHOW THEIR FEELINGS TOWARDS THOSE WHO THREATEN THEM,AND AS FOR THE ASSHOLE WHO THINKS BRITAIN STILL OWES THEM ,YOU ARE AN EXAMPLE OF THE ARROGANCE DESPISED BY MANY . YANKS OUT ,YANKS OUT

  35. Some of you Nationalist/Elitist/Xenophobes really make me laugh. If you had two Americans that brought you a title, you’d all be kissing their asses. Instead, you end up selling to the worst two representatives America has to offer, and what’s worse, YOU COULDN’T EVEN DO YOUR HOMEWORK, AND REALIZE THEY DON’T GIVE A FLYING EFF ABOUT SPORTING CLUBS, PERIOD, LEAST OF ALL YOURS!

    YOU reap what you sow, and for those that want the “foreign influence” out of YOUR league; Give Spain back Torres, give Italy back Aquilani, give the Danes back Agger, give Israel back Yossi, give Kuyt back to the Netherlands, and so on.

    What a pathetic and clueless display, by a group of “fans.” Get over your “little brother to the Americans” routine, and quit alienating you own brothers/sisters.

    The Yanks want the “Yanks” (i.e. our Clowns for Owners) out, just as much as the Scousers do.

    Now pop off back to the boozer, for another pint. I’m sure all that flag burning has you parched, right?

  36. I love U.S.A. long time. you bring leverage & franchise fun. we no like fan who burn flag of U.S.A. which made in Korea. I like U.S. supporters of soccer. Go Soccer!! I go to Anfield 5 times like Barz. I now call soccer fans ‘mate’. i hope business people not frightened of buy the soul of LFC. It is for sale like things in USA. like weetabix or ground zero merchandise. please publish your e-mail Barz i like to know ardent supporter of LFC long time.

  37. Poor “FREDDIEFACT”: The truth can hurt, at times, can’t it? I have a very good friend who lives in Childwall. He has had season’s tickets at Anfield for over fifty years, and I can tell you, without equivocation, that he would never condone the sort of disgraceful behavior you attempt to justify. My father served in France, in the U.S. Army, during the Second World War (you may have heard of it…), and was one of thousands of Americans who just happened to help save Britain (You can read all about it in any history book) from becoming a training facility for the Bundesliga. I understand that you don’t like being confronted by the fact that if it weren’t for the United States, your favorite dish would be knockwurst and sauerkraut, rather than scouse, but no amount of your vitriolic bullshit can change history, so your only option is to learn to deal with it.
    Now, hopefully, you can use this as a “teachable moment”. It’s not about being arrogant, as you foolishly state. It IS about hoping that you might have the brains to understand that just because the owners of LFC happen to be American, it doesn’t give you the right to burn our national flag. If you genuinely think that it does, you are nothing more than a pathetic, little xenophobe. Get a grip and get a life…

  38. Listen folks, Lfc is a religion. So where ever you are from, whatever you believe in, even if you are black, white, yellow or blue. Do what ever you can to force those yanks out.
    American lfc fans should not be offended, if they love the club they will be supporting us.
    And to rest of you who are offended, who cares about your fat ass.
    If it takes to burn those flags to force them out then i am ordering 50-60 american flags from china to burn.

  39. Narrow minded idiots are usually the ones news cameras seek out when there is a protest. Never will you find the ones with class opinions. Only the loudest morons. Burning the flag is an insult. We may be Britains former colony, but we hold Britain in the highest regard. I’d no more burn the Jack or carve the Liverbird Tattoo off my chest if I were upset with the club. I’m an American who has been ready for H&G to go. I also believe that though Rafa is a world class manager, he has lost the players trust. The view on Stevie’s face said it all when Rafa sub’d Torres at the end of the season. We need a taskmaster. A man of vision and steel to guide this wonderful club back to the top! I’d hope that the protest doesnt happen on July 4th. A better date would be when H&G took over. Lets hope a new manager is in place soon (you would have to think conversations have happened with someone) and that the club is sold quickly.

    YNWA

  40. can’t believe the amount of morons we have supporting LFC, so the very best protest S,O,S, can think of is to burn the USA flag
    so let me get this right to get your message across to 2 americans that your upset, you decide to insult 300 million innocent men, women , and children of the US, BY burning their flag, this burning is a very childish selfish attitude, do you think a prospective buyer is going to be impressed by this act
    tell me what positive came out of this, I’ll tell you absolutely none, all you acheived is dragging the name of liverpool supporters down with YOU, S,o,S leaders should resign(if it was SOS INVOLVED)PROTESTS are supposed to be intelligently thought out,planned with dignity to protect LFC AND its fans good name, in this day and age the only people I see burning the US flag are the USA sworn enemies, I now withdraw my support of S,O,S,

  41. says who? the flag shouldn’t be the only thing that is burnt. G & H simply embodies the basic characteristics of americans. GREED.

  42. All over the world people burn Israel flags to condemned their wrong doings. They didn’t butthurt

    Why should the US of A butthurt?

  43. Burning that flag has given the piss-ant Steve Cohen a lifeline in the US. Therefore it is wrong. Enough said.

  44. I do believe that the burning of the flag was symbolic for the most part and not aimed at Americans as a whole (although I thought so until I read some of these comments) but flag burning is an ignorant act that affects all US fans that love this club just as much as the next guy. We despise Hicks and Gillett too and to categorize all Americans with them is just plain repulsive. Maybe that’s not the aim, but actions speak otherwise, and actions speak louder than words. LFC fans are the most loyal and loving of the club, but that doesn’t mean we have to be stupid and mindless either. This isn’t going to get rid of H & G, but only leave millions of fans insulted and tarnish our reputation.

  45. I have officially canceled my flight to Liverpool for preseason vacation. After I watched enraged fans burn American flags I feel my own life is in danger of going to such a place at this time. All of you who burn or support burning of our flag are pitiful human beings. The United States has nothing to do with two twats who own your club.

    Such a pity, would have never thought Liverpool fans would stoop so low.

    Welp, off to Brighton to enjoy the beach and quality people.

  46. All you saying it is just a flag would be back on hear complaining if it was your flag saying it is wrong and don’t tell me you would not.

  47. I’m half Yank, half Brit. This is what I will say: Never, ever, in the US do you see a Union Jack or St. George’s cross set aflame on the 4th of July or any other day in history that could stir up anti-British sentiment. If you think that a football club is more than a country, you are an idiot. Would you fight or die for this club? Probably not. I sure as hell wouldn’t, and think anyone willing to die for a sports team (even their national team) probably needs to get their head examined. Football was shut down in the UK during WW2 because it *isn’t* more important than a country. It isn’t worth burning a flag over, especially at a time when the club needs more fans around the world. How many Americans who love “Soccer” (there are more than you think, especially Spanish speaking immigrants…more USA fans bought tickets to South Africa than Germany!!!!) will see this story and think “Forget LFC, I’ll go support Man U or Everton?” They will. We are lucky that Football isn’t that big in the states, otherwise this would be hugely damaging.

    On another historical note: Without being disrespectful to the Americans who fought and died in WW2, it is cruel to those who died for the Soviet Union when fighting the Nazis to go around talking about how “You’d all be speaking German” without us or whatever. History would be different (perhaps the Iron Curtain would have wound up a little further west…ie all of Germany instead of two Germanies) if the US hadn’t fought. American schools do a horrible job teaching WW2. Regardless, the Scousers who fought alongside the Americans would be disgusted and are spinning in their graves at this.

  48. It’s quite clear the angry and the heat of the moment got the better of these lads! It’s not an attack on america simply an attack on hicks and gillette, trying to get the message across to them, I’m not sayin it’s the right way or wrong way. Spirit of shankly and save liverpool had nothing to do with this!

    Most Liverpool fans aren’t patriotic in the slightest, but if this has really offended you maybe you should stick to your local team

    1. Local Team, Steve are you kidding?

      What is my local team?, I have been a Liverpool supporter for 30 years.

      Please remember that most American Liverpool Supporters are Scouse expats who married Americans and now live in the US. Their kids are American, how are they suppose to explain this to their children?

  49. I didn’t defend them Antoine! I’m saying they made a statement abot there hatred for the owners right or wrong they did it! We can’t change it that a small group decided to do this, I highly doubt they itended to offend any Americans.

    I’m not kidding either I honestly believe if you are truely offended by this stick to your local team, I’m not having a go at you here I’m just saying they are the one there trying to get the message across, and I’m not sayig you don’t do your part you put a lot of effort into this and the campaigns you join in on

    1. Steve, over a year ago a London born radio commentator said some nasty things about Hillsborough. Many Liverpool (and non-Liverpool) supporters joined the effort to get him off and air and we succeeded. How can I explain the events yesterday to those who helped us in that campaign? All it does is give fuel to Liverpool haters like him.

  50. Again Antoine I’m not defending them! They did it out of some knee jerk reaction and anger at the club, there will be the arguement from some they did the right thing and some say they did the complete wrong thing, I’m not condoning what they did, I wouldn’t have joined in!

    You can explain by saying a small group of people out of a knee jerk reaction to the awul events at the club made a mistake! All they wanted was to get their point across

  51. Wow. There is some serious anti-Americanism running through some LFC supporters. In this global age we live in there are good and bad English, American, Russian, Chinese, and German businessmen. While I have long understood the opposition to H&G I didn’t realize the “Yanks Out” thing about THEM had become, for many, “Yanks Suck” generally.

    The number of people expressing hate toward the U.S. here is disturbing. We apparently know nothing about “soccer” and have no business supporting a team in a country that we don’t live in.

    I must admit that–while I know it’s not a majority–I find myself seriously questioning my 11 years of loyalty to LFC.

    This is an eye-opener, and quite a sad state of affairs.

  52. Americans should concentrate on Baseball, Basketball, American Football or Ice Hockey and not get to embroiled with teams or sports from far away lands. I live in England and love my football, however I would not or could not get too excited or involved with any foreign sports which are not native to my own country, and would certainly not call any of them “my team”, how can they be? they are thousends of miles away, I think it would be impossible to have any emotional tie or understanding of a team which is so far away.

    I’m sorry if I’ve offended, but it’s how it should be.

    1. Xile:
      The majority of Liverpool Supporters in the USA are Scouse expats or expats (from other countries) like me who have supported Liverpool for over 30 years.

      I do not watch any American sports, Footie is my passion, Liverpool FC is my life.

      My kids are American citizens, how can I explain the flag burning to my kids?

    2. Xile I also forgot to mention the US Citizens living in Liverpool who are also Liverpool Supporters, what have they done to deserve this?

      I guess according to you they should support their local team where they live, emm. ah yeah it is Liverpool F.C.

  53. OK Antoine, point taken, however anyone not born in the UK should stick to Hockey.

    I wouldn’t take the burning of the flag personally, even though it would be hard not to.

    Hicks & Gillett are Americans, there is no getting away from that, but the fact that they have taken our historical and great club and pretty much bought is to it’s knees has generated so much hatred and resentment it may have seemed like the only way (to some) to express their feelings towards them, I doubt this act was directed to American’s in general but to Hicks & Gillette in the hope they would get the very blunt message which is “GET OUT!”

    1. Xile, Hicks & Gillett do not care about America either, the flag burning did not upset them.

      Tom Hicks bankrupt his hometown Baseball team for crying out loud.

      As regards to the comment about anyone not born in the UK should follow stick to Hockey, I can only laugh at this comment.
      3 billion people in the world think otherwise ROFL, World Cup starts next week and it is not the Hockey one.

  54. Antoine
    My comments were directed to those residing in America, thousends of miles away from Anfield or any other English club for that matter. Those Americans who live in the UK are of course more than welcome to support any football club they wish, after all they are living in the very community in which the club stands.

    1. So Xile, it was redirected at me too.

      Where you live should not matter, this is the 21st century.

      I live in Florida so according to you I should not support Liverpool FC

      So What the F**K are you doing on my site? ROFL

  55. Xile: Saying that Americans shouldn’t support foreign teams because they are far away is like saying that foreign players shouldn’t play for teams in other countries (although it does bug me to see Americans supporting countries in the world cup they have never been to and have no connection with, like Brazil). How much money does LFC get from Americans getting the pay channels necessary to watch the game? I work at a large university in the US and I see more LFC shirts than American football shirts. I own several shirts myself and get the channels in question. LFC needs its foreign fans. May I remind you the premiere league was formed because they could get a better TV deal.

    The MLS is getting better but it isn’t the same quality as the European leagues. It has slowly improved and will eventually be more entertaining. If you fell in love with American football or (Ice) Hockey there is no way you would choose the BAFL or whatever the ice hockey league is called over the NFL or NHL.

  56. I frequently look at the “News Now” portal to read the latest news, or gossip about Liverpool and I happened to come across a link to this site. As it was a site about “Liverpool” I (wrongly) assumed it was English (next time before reading or responding to an article on a site, I will remember to do a Whois check first to check its origin).

    There you go, my mistake.

  57. I love Liverpool but to see some idiots burning the American flag yesterday was shameful and made me cringe. I live in neither the states nor Liverpool but because you live outside Liverpool does not make you any less of a supporter of the club.

    Can you imagine if you could only support the sport related to your own country? I great up in Northern Ireland and I now live in Canada, I love my football and I’ve also grown to love other sports. Liverpool are my team though I’ve also come to really enjoy the MLS.

  58. Xile, you clearly don’t understand that football is now a world game, not just an English one. It’s been played in America since long before any of us were born. Just because it’s not the most popular sport here who the hell do you think you are to say we shouldn’t play or watch it?

    Also, it’s because the EPL has been marketed so effectively in other countries that the money exists from TV to bring in the best players from around the world. Without that global TV money, my friend, the EPL is on par with the Greek league, because it’s not like English players are dominating the league these days.

    “I’m sorry if I’ve offended” but that’s how it is.

  59. lfc stands for liverpool football circus standing back and watching you squabble your ex manger had no dignity just like a lot of your so called supporters grow up and behave like men take the bad with the good silence is golden

  60. “It’s not the LIverpool way.”

    If LIverpool FC is all about the supporters, then it is the LIverpool way.

    Heysel, Athens, home robberies, xenophobia – the LIverpool way.

  61. Can I jus say in response to football being English…. Well I’m English, sure we came up with the sport… But what tournament starts in 7 days… The WORLD CUP, a tournament where 32 nations from around the WORLD take part, and we sure as hell don’t dominate every year. So that’s a stupid statement to make.

  62. “Xile, you clearly don’t understand that football is now a world game, not just an English one. It’s been played in America since long before any of us were born.”

    Football may have been played in America for a long time, the funny thing is only a very small amount of American’s care about, or understand the game (which is the most popular sport almost everywhere else in the world). I remember before the World Cup kicked of in the USA, people were stopped on the streets and asked if they were excited about hosting the World Cup, and most didn’t even know what the World Cup was despite it being hosted on their own doorsteps, very amusing. Not so long ago The MLS had to draft in David Beckham in an attempt to promote the game of “soccer” to the masses, which pretty much speaks volumes about how much the beautiful game is appreciated in the states.

    I do understand that the digital age has made the EPL accessible to people all over the world (I’m not a complete retard). Most enjoy watching the games as they are of a higher standard to their own respective leagues, and that’s fine. It’s also fine to have a favourite team, but you should spend more time supporting your teams from your own domestic leagues, how else is the sport going to develop in other countries if citizens are placing their loyalties with teams thousands of miles away?

    “Without that global TV money, my friend, the EPL is on par with the Greek league, because it’s not like English players are dominating the league these days”

    Yes, there are a lot of foreign players in the EPL, most would agree that there are too many. This isn’t because the clubs want to reach out to foreign countries in an attempt gain more overseas fan’s, it is because foreign players are cheaper than English players, they cost less and they are probably paid less. Beacuse of this trend of importing players, it has meant that not enough home grown talent has come through the ranks, fewer English players means that those who do make it are simply too expensive, it’s a viscous circle. Glen Johnson is a good example, don’t get me wrong he is a fantastic right back, but £18M for a right back?? If he was a foreigner he would have cost half that amount. Unfortunately, it all comes down to money and not marketing. The influx of foreigners has probably had a negative effect on the EPL, the in 70’s/80’s when Liverpool dominated the world most of the quality players were British; Dalglish, Rush, Clemence, Barnes, Hansen, Hunt, Aldridge, Beardsly, Keegan, Kennedy, Heighway, Neal, Nicol, Souness…Just to name a few. Mass immigration for cheap labour has meant that this is no loner viable.

  63. that burning of the american flag.this the level we lfc fans are relegated to. me is ashamed.

  64. Jesus christ you are so damn touchy about spirit and so on. It’s like the burning the flag is like raping all the mothers and daughters of your country. Calm TFD. This was a spontaneous reaction to the archetypical american business approach. Nothing is more important that money and profit. Is that not the american dream? Its not just hicks and gillett that we despise, it is the whole business model they represent. And that is deeply imbedded within the so-called american dream and american business policy. H&G are prime representatives of this policy and that is why slogans such as “yanks out” are being used. Don’t be so blind to your own weaknesses and business policies, your country is responsible for a shitload of gried worldwide and it rubs off on represenatives such as H&G; they are NOT unique. I say, burn the flag as a s symbol to get them out, it does not reflect on the american people, we do NOT care about the american people at all, we care about the business policies born there that enables these greedy bastards to disregard everything else but profit. There is nothing more american than that.

  65. Xile – While I should speak for myself and myself alone, I believe that most Americans prefer to watch/support the best in any field. We live and die with our NBA teams 82 games a year, NHL teams 82 games a year, NFL teams 16 games a year and our MLB teams 162 times a year! WHY? Because each league is at the pinnacle of that sport. Same goes for the EPL. While true American football fans follow their favorite MLS team, it obvviously pales in comparison to the level of competition in the EPL and with EVERY game televised, it no longer matters if you’re down the street from the pitch or 8,000 miles away. To say there are too many foreigners in the EPL is RIDICULOUS! Just like all the American sports leagues, every leagues primary goal should be to include the very best available, regardless of where they are from. I am American but cannot stand to see what these businessmen have done to LFC. The point is, in the year 2010, it should not matter if they are American, Russian, English, Chinese, etc. The fact is that two men have run a historical franchise into the ground. Where they are from should have no bearing on the subject.

    As for the reaction to the actual burning of the flag… We Americans are taught from day one on this Earth that the American Flag is much, much, much more than just a symbol of recognition to the rest of the world. I’m sure every other culture and nation is taught and feels the same about their own. It signifies the many lives that were lost in gaining and sustaining our freedom. It his hard to describe or explain, but in American culture the Flag is an extremely sacred symbol. While I do not believe that those who burned the flag meant to disgrace America as a whole, it does. It may sound crazy to some but there is very strict etiquette used in the US when considering the flag. For instance, it should never touch the ground. It should be lowered and brought inside during a rain or snow storm. It should be mended immediately if tattered or frayed. The flag is to be folded and discarded in a certain way. I know this all sounds very nationalistic but it is not meant to. I only wish to explain and express why Americans react so faithfully when the flag is mistreated. Hopefully through all this we can all agree on one thing… HICKS AND GILLETT NEED TO GO!!!

  66. Let me say as an American I was deeply saddened by the flag burning incident. I have been a Liverpool fan since 1970, when visiting relatives in Ireland I saw the FA cup final loss to arse nil, but fell in love that day with the team I have supported passionately ever since. Just last year I made my life long dream of seeing a game at Anfield, from the Kop, a reality at the game against Newcastle. All that having been said, I would dearly love to see Hicks and Gillette leave the planet and go ruin somebody else’s team. Believe me when I say that those two in no way represent me as an American or as a Liverpool fan. How do I reconcile the two great loves of my life, my country and my team, who for a brief moment seemed so irreconcilably at odds with each other. Time for a beer.

  67. Burning a Country’s flag is an attack on the Country and every citizen and guest of that nation.

    It is not an attack on two people and only an idiot would think it would be interpreted that way.

  68. @Antoine Zammit says:

    “Hicks & Gillett do not even care for America.

    Remember it was Tom Hicks who bankrupt his hometown baseball team “Texas Rangers””

    What the hell does the Texas Rangers have to do with America? Hate to be the one to tell you but a baseball team from one state does not equal the whole country of the uNited states. Nobody but Texas Ranger fans give a damn about the Texas rangers. And going bankrupt isn’t a slight on America it’s just shitty business decisions.

  69. @Antoine Zammit

    if that comment about hating america cause of the texas rangers wasn’t by you i’m sorry but it seems like it is cause it’s under your name. Regardless it makes no sense.

  70. No one should be defending burning the American flag. Any Brits who don’t get this should put it into perspective:

    Suppose some rich Englishman (I don’t care who) buys a legendary American sports franchise. The Cowboys or Red Wings or something like that. Suppose that franchise gets ridden into the ground, and the local fans are quite annoyed by it, and want to protest.

    How would you feel if they decided to protest by burning the English flag, or the Union Jack? Or by making signs proclaiming the Queen to be a whore? Wouldn’t that irk you? Wouldn’t that seem out of place to you?

  71. Mike You are definitely showing your Americaness there….

    “The fact is that two men have run a historical franchise into the ground”

    Until Tom Hicks made his famous speech during his and Gilletts press conference after completeing the club takeover, no one had ever called an English club a “franchise” before, it’s a football club for crying out loud not McDonalds, everytime I hear the word “franchise” it makes my skin crawl!

    If it’s only recently become a “franchise” (it wasn’t before) in the sweaty hands of the Americans, how can it be historical??

  72. Xile, you are definately showing your ignorance of what “franchise” means in terms of pro sports in North America. If I were you, I wouldn’t be throwing stones in glass houses.

    Obviously we all get how things are done differently in the US/Canada than in most of the rest of the world. You hear “franchise” and think of McDonalds: where franchises are just carbon copies of each other, and there is no real identity from one franchise to another. But for sports in the US/Canada, “franchise” is just term used to describe the fact that in North America, the owners of teams are heavily invested in the leagues that they operate.

    That doesn’t make them into cookie-cutter operations like a McDonalds. It just means that all 32 NFL teams jointly run the NFL. The Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders as franchises are run VERY differently and are entirely unique to each other. As a business (from an ownership perspective), LFC operates mostly independent from the Premiership. Clearly, that’s much different from what you associate with “franchise”.

    In the future, I’d recommend you untwist your panties and relax. You don’t get this uptight when an American says “dude” instead of “bloke” do you?

  73. Unfortunately for you, Liverpool F.C isn’t located in North America, we do things differently.

    Franchise

    “A form of business organization in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with other businesses (franchisees) operating under the franchisor’s trade name and usually with the franchisor’s guidance, in exchange for a fee.”

    Liverpool F.C is not a franchise. No other businesses operate under the name of Liverpool F.C.

  74. I wasn’t arguing that LFC is a franchise*. I was pointing out that the franchises in North American leagues operate nothing like franchises of fast food joints.

    And also pointing out that you really need to unclench your cheeks and not get so bent out of shape over semantics.

    * You are right that LFC is not a franchise. Your reasoning is completely wrong, though. The fact that no one else operates under Liverpool FC doesn’t prove anything. For instance, no one else operates under the name Green Bay Packers, yet the Packers absolutely are a franchise of the NFL.

  75. @ Xile

    You think that Americans should not support a team that is thousands of miles away, only only support their local team? Sports are global, otherwise the “world” cup would not be succesful. Also, America is a pretty good sized country. It is quite plausible that someone living in Virginia, might support the Los Angeles Lakers. Distance from Virginia to California? 2,291 miles.

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