Alonso: I'm not a cheat
07 Jan 2007 - 16:02:02
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso insists he is not a diver and believes he should not have been booked in Saturday's FA Cup third round defeat to Arsenal at Anfield.
Alonso was handed a yellow card midway through the first half for simulation, although action replays suggested Gunners midfielder Gilberto Silva had caught the Spaniard.
The Reds star is upset by suggestions that he was looking for a penalty, saying: "I felt the contact, that is for sure.
"People who have watched it on TV have said it was a clear penalty and I felt that on the pitch.
"I was talking to the referee and Gilberto and I said to them there had been contact, that I didn't cheat. I was trying to play with the ball and I fell down because of that contact - I was not cheating."