Kewell hits back in penalty row

Harry Kewell has furiously denied that he dived to win Liverpool the penalty which clinched their FA Cup win at Yeovil.

And he has won support from coach Phil Thompson, who insists Kewell did not admit to cheating by telling Yeovil’s Portuguese defender Hugo Rodrigues he had dived.

Liverpool won the contest 2-0 with goals in the last 20 minutes from Emile Heskey and Danny Murphy’s spot-kick, awarded for Rodrigues’ challenge on the Australian.

And Thompson explained: “It was a clear penalty, you can see on TV that the defender’s knee catches Harry.”

And Aussie Kewell is also fuming with the accusation, saying: “He got his foot stuck, his knee stopped my movement, stopped me going towards goal and denied me a shot at goal.

“At the end of the day that is a penalty in my book. I would not dive. It’s not fair on the opposition.

“Some strikers are known for doing that but I would never consider trying to con the referee.

“It is a free country and he can say what he wants – but I am not going to lose any sleep over it.

“I know he touched me. It was the referee’s decision to award the penalty and he was well placed to do so. “I don’t know why he’s making such a big fuss about it now.”

Kewell added in an interview on Liverpoolfc.tv: “I have got nothing to be ashamed about. If you look at the situation, he has touched me.

“If a defender touches a striker in the box it is a penalty. I do not know what he has to complain about. “He came up to me during the game and asked me why I dived. I said to him ’Did you touch me?’ And he said yes.”

Thompson was equally annoyed with the giant Yeovil defender, adding: “Harry said their lad asked him ’what did you do that for?’

“Harry said to him ’if you touch me, you know what is going to happen.’

“If their lad is taking that to mean Harry is going to dive, that is up to him but it just meant that if you touch a striker in the box, it is likely to be a penalty.

“Their lad has misunderstood, he has got it wrong.”

Liverpool have now ruled Steven Gerrard out of Wednesday’s away game at Chelsea, and he could miss Saturday’s visit of Aston Villa to Anfield.

Michael Owen, who failed to travel to Yeovil after a week of full training, is still in line for a comeback at Stamford Bridge.