Henderson slams Leeds for "disrespectful" gesture towards Liverpool players
Jordan Henderson says Leeds United were "disrespectful" towards Liverpool's players when they met last month in the eye of the European Super League storm.
The Reds headed to Elland Road on April 19, the day after the club had announced that they were one of 12 European football heavyweights to sign up for the proposed new breakaway league.
Liverpool were the first of the clubs in action after the announcement, and they were met with angry protests from both sets of fans when they arrived at the game.
Leeds players wore t-shirts demanding that clubs should "Earn It" with reference to Champions League football, with Jurgen Klopp left angered as one of the t-shirts was placed in the Liverpool dressing room.
The Liverpool manager and James Milner, his captain for the evening, both stated that they weren't fans of the idea after the match, and then club captain Henderson, who was injured for the match at Elland Road, led the squad in releasing statements damning the Super League idea the following day as the plans fell apart.
With the squad united in damning the idea, Henderson felt Leeds' actions toward them at Elland Road crossed the line.
The club's chief executive Victor Orta could be seen holding up one of the t-shirts towards Klopp and his players, while after the match, a 1-1 draw, Leeds' official Twitter account referred to Liverpool as 'European Super League side Merseyside Reds'.
“The T-shirts, I felt, were disrespectful,” Henderson told The New York Times.
“The players hadn’t done anything. It wasn’t something we wanted..”
Reds principal owner John W Henry has since apologised for the whole affair, stating that he was the only person at the club to blame for it.
But while he wasn't a fan of Henry's decision, Henderson also stressed that he and Fenway Sports Group have been positive owners of Liverpool.
“If you look at it, they’ve done a good job,” he added.
“They’ve grown the club. They’ve put money in. They’ve built a new training ground. They brought the manager in.”
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