News filtered through yesterday about Rafa Benitez litigation against the News International group (owners of The S*n and the News of the World).
Benitez had promised earlier this year that he would take this action.
Rafa is suing the NOTW newspaper and it’s ‘journalist’ Rob Beasley. According to Rafa the article entitled “It’s your fault! Benitez in new blast at owners” was dematory, embarrassing, injured his reputation and caused him upset.
In the ‘story’ Beasley suggested that Rafa blamed the club’s owners for the on field disappointment and that Rafa was shirking responsibility. According to Rafa, the story also suggested he was disloyal and looking for any excuse as a reason he didn’t win the title.
Rafa believes that Beasley concocted the story based on effectively a very poor translation of an interview he gave with El Mundo in Spain. It is believed that there is a clear personality clash between Beasley and Benitez, and anybody who reads our forum will be all to aware of Beasley.
Amongst many other discussions have a read of this thread and watch the video clip of Beasley.
Beasley is on record, remember he is supposed to be an impartial journalist, as saying:
“I’m not a fan of Benitez the manager and Benitez the person because I think he’s a bit snide and secretive. He tries to use the press to then ignite the fans – who adore him at Liverpool – to try and put pressure on the owners.
“If you remember not that long ago there was that classic press conference when Benitez showed his petulance and stupidity to the extreme where he’d had a tiff, they’d wrapped him across the knuckles and said ‘keep your head down, focus on coaching and training the players – that’s your job’.
Anyway, just so you know which one he is in that video interview this is him.
Oh, and journalists love to get emails from fans. I’m sure he’d love you to wish his team, Chelsea, the best of luck on Wednesday.
Rob Beasley talks crap – he says Rafa is like a petulant schoolboy – love to know how he described Jose Mourinho then as he did not know how to lose.
Rafa is the best and Beasley is only sorry that he is LIVERPOOL manager and not Chelski`s.
Good luck Rafa, You merit more than that. Your name and god work must not be doubted. Wish you ll be somehow compensated…..
I would like to think that if it did go to court and rafa won his case and got a pay out that he would give the money to charity. as if he ain’t rich enough already. I’m thinking alder hey and any official hillsborough linked charities.
Reikirebel you are an idiot!!
Of course behind the scene turmoil had an unsettling effect and Benitez hardly used it as an excuse – the fact is that the terrible slump in the teams performance coincided with the disgraceful behind the scene rumblings and talk of Rafa being replaced with Klinsman et al. If Rafa made any comments towards why the team were not playing well it was because it was fact. Rafa has done a fantastic job to keep the team so focussed in recent months with all the shenanigans going on. Stop trying to sound righteous by saying he should donate any damages to charity – the fact is that NOTW jumped on the band wagon and tried attacking the club when it was on the ground just to sell more volumes. Rafa is one of the most graceful managers there is – compare him to Ferguson, Wenger and the defunct Mourinho, who still can’t keep his mouth shut. I suggest you grow up a bit and concentrate on supporting your club than spouting crap since November 2006 about Rafa’s comments. It seems there’s only one person throwing his toys out of the pram and that isn’t Rafa the Gaffer.
PS, Liverpool fans need to boycott every News Corp newspaper in order to hurt The S*n. If everyone just switched over to buying The Mirror or The Daily Mail instead of The S*n their bosses would be laughing at you.
I would say boycott Sky too in your movement, but that’s probably too far looking at the near monopoly they hold over live football.
Good luck Rafa in taking that filthy organsation to court. I would sue Beasley personally if I were Rafa too. Even as a Gooner I know only too well about News Corp’s bias, you can bet your bottom dollar they wouldn’t have printed a story like this about their beloved Man Utd.
Good luck in Moscow! Justice for the 96!
I have been a liverpool support for over 40 years …. but SOME of the comments I agree with …
What was Rafa doing coming out to the press (throwing his dummy out the pram it seemed to me) …. He did blame the owners and if you look back over his history at anfield, this is regular for our rafa ….
I have been saying in these forums since November 2006, rafa needs to keep his comments to himself and yes I do believe his interaction with the press did help the negative at the club!
At a time when there was a feeling of unsettling, Rafa should have stayed focused and worked to keeping all our focus on the pitch not off it … yes he has a responsibility just as the owners have … the 3 haven’t haven’t shown us there best side at times and have acted like muppets …. yes Rafa has my support but I don’t like the moaning to the press and yes his words did ignite raw feelings towards the owners. rafa did play a part in all that and in my view rafa should not be taking this matter further, at a time when a lot of passionate words left a lot of mouths, this matter should be left to history …
Rafa if you love this club, please protect it and that means you put us first … If you do push forward with this action and do win (i’d be surprised) then we will all expect that money to go to charity and no further outbursts!
Walk on … and keep believing!!!!