John Arne Riise revealed that he couldn't clap Liverpool fans when they changed the words to his song to signify Alan Smith's horrific leg break
Riise spent seven years at Anfield and was an immediate fan favourite upon his arrival in 2001 thanks to his goal-scoring abilities and galloping runs on the left flank.
He was honoured with a song created by Reds fans to the tune of 'Hey Baby' after scoring a free-kick screamer against Manchester United in his debut season for the club
the lyrics to the tune were altered after Smith's horror injury in 2006 when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle
The ex-Norway international admitted the changes to his chant meant he could no longer applaud Liverpool fans when they sang it
Riise
From what I remember, Liverpool fans changed my song on that day, from "I wanna know, how you scored that goal" to "I wanna know, how you broke his leg" -
“I couldn't clap the fans or thank them on that day, for that,"
“Yes, you should have rivalry between teams, for sure, but there comes a point where the human being, and their career, is more important."
Smith spent seven months on the sidelines with the injury, and Riise called his injury "sickening," adding:
"When I went over to Alan [Smith] and saw his ankle, just hanging there, loose, it was sickening.
“Nobody wants to see that on the pitch. I wasn't going to thank the fans for singing that song after they changed the words like that;
“I couldn't and wouldn't thank them because it was very, very harsh on Alan.”
Riise made a point to contact the ex-England international after the game to send him his well-wishes
Riise added
"I reached out to Alan in the evening and sent him a few texts afterwards, just to see how his rehabilitation was going, but nothing more since then,"
"People get injured in games, that's always going to happen, but the fact that I played a part in that incident, I just wanted to make sure he was OK afterwards."
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