Dalglish stands by Babel
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has leapt to the defence of forward Ryan Babel after he was charged with improper behaviour by the Football Association.
The Holland international was hit with disciplinary action after posting a picture and comments about referee Howard Webb on Twitter after Sunday’s FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.
He sent out a mocked-up picture of the World Cup final referee wearing a Manchester United shirt and also wrote: “And they call him one of the best referees? That’s a joke. SMH (shaking my head).”
Dalglish felt Babel was just sharing a joke which quickly swept the internet after the game and it was not the player’s deliberate intention to accuse Webb of bias.
“I think it is only a bit of fun,” said the 59-year-old Scot, who is the only Barclays Premier League manager who currently has his own Twitter account.
“Maybe I’ve been out of the game too long but let’s see if they can find a sense of humour,” he said.
“He apologised straight away.”
And Dalglish joked: “I don’t think he’s clever enough technically to have drawn that up himself.”
Soon after his original postings Babel apologised and put forward an explanation.
“My apology if they take my posted pic seriously. This is just an emotional reaction after losing an important game,” said the 24-year-old. “Sorry Howard Webb.”
Babel has until 4pm on Thursday to respond to the charge.
