Houlier Blasts Referee for Treatment of Diouf

By David Anderson
August 19 2002

Gerrard Houlier has vented his feelings publically about the treatment of Senegal star El Hadji Diouf. In his debut, Diouf was yellow carded after only 18 minutes and Houlier thinks that if he had been English then he would have escaped caution.

Gerrard Houlier has vented his feelings publically about the treatment of Senegal star El Hadji Diouf. In his debut, Diouf was yellow carded after only 18 minutes and Houlier thinks that if he had been English then he would have escaped caution.

The unhappy Liverpool manager said that Diouf was the innocent party, "People are unfair to him. When he was booked for dissent it was after he was pushed off the pitch and his reaction was frustration.

"The referee should have said, 'don't do that again' - you have to speak to players.

"I don't think if it had been an English player it would have been the same.

"If an English player had been fouled as much as Diouf was fouled, would it have been the same?"

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