Whilst Emirates Stadium has been branded as unsafe by Sir Alex Ferguson, it is Liverpool which has been named unsafe by their own Rafa Benitez. Steven Gerrard’s home was burgled whilst he was away on a Champions League trip. His wife was confronted by four masked men whilst her children were sleeping upstairs. They took off with Rolex watches and two sets of car keys. It is believed that these burglaries are linked to those from Pepe Reina and Dirk Kuyt earlier in their Liverpool careers.
Spokesman Ian Cotton said:
“The club takes this extremely seriously and we will be looking at ways to provide cover for the players’ houses while they are away with the club on domestic and international duty.”
Coincidently, Jerzy Dudek, Daniel Agger, Peter Crouch and Florent Sinama-Pongolle were all targeted by thieves, and this recent attack can only reiterate the seriousness of this issue.
Superintendent Phil Scarth, of the Merseyside police force, said:
“I would like to express my sympathy to Mr and Mrs Gerrard for what is an upsetting experience.
“As with every burglary victim, we will be carrying out a thorough investigation and offering them crime prevention advice. There have been a number of burglaries targeting the home addresses of footballers living in Merseyside.
“We are linking these incidents as the incidents have taken place while they have been away at fixtures. Those affected have been targeted because they are wealthy and it is known that they will be away from the UK for specific fixtures.
“The force already offers annual security reviews for the players, if they wish to take advantage of them.
“We are now working closely with the individuals affected as well as the club to offer crime prevention and personal security advice as well as stepping up security around footballers homes. The force is taking a co-ordinated approach to look into all the incidents, as we take all reports of burglary seriously,”
As much as opponents loathe those of the Liverpool race, we must feel sympathetic to Gerrard. However, we cannot always think like that. Are these respectable members of society doing us a favour? Are they trying to send a message across to the footballing world that the arrogance of Merseyside needs to be quashed forever? You tell us.