John Arne Riise has revealed the surprising reason why he stopped clapping Liverpool fans singing about him during his prestigious career at Anfield.
The full-back spent seven seasons at Liverpool after joining the club from Monaco in 2001 and was a key figure in helping the Reds win a magical Champions League title.
Riise’s performances made him a popular figure amongst Liverpool supporters who quickly took the former Norway international into their fold and even blessing him with a unique chant.
Renowned for his rocket left-foot strikes, Riise had a chant dedicated to him after scoring a stunning volley against rivals Manchester United in his debut Premier League campaign.
The chant, sung to the tune of ‘Hey Baby’, was immediately a hit, but a change in the lyrics left Riise unimpressed as he decided to no longer recognise the song praising his performances.
John Arne Riise has revealed the surprising reason why he stopped clapping Liverpool fans singing about him
The full-back spent seven seasons at Liverpool after joining the club from Monaco in 2001
Renowned for his rocket left-foot strikes, Riise had a chant dedicated to him after scoring a stunning volley against rivals Manchester United
The former Red has now revealed how the song altering to include words referencing Alan Smith’s horror leg break that was caused when the ex-United striker tried to block one of Riise’s rocket strikes.
‘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,’ Riise told Ladbrokes, the official betting partner of Liverpool FC.
‘Yes, you should have rivalry between teams, for sure, but there comes a point where the human being, and their career, is more important.
Riise revealed how the words changed in his song to reference ex-Man United striker Alan Smith’s leg break meant he could no longer recognise the fan chant
‘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,’ he added.
‘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.’
Smith faced a lengthy rehabilitation from the serious injury and was sidelined for seven months before later struggling to make the grade in a star-studded Man United team.
Meanwhile, Riise departed Anfield in 2008 for Roma, but later returned to the English top-flight with Fulham.