Liverpool FC Forum

[Igor Zidane]

Bumpety bump .



REDS CONDEMN HILLSBOROUGH RADIO LIES
Liverpool Football Club 21 May 2009

Liverpool Football Club have today issued a statement in response to the recent ill-informed and inflammatory comments made about the Hillsborough disaster by the London-born, US-based Radio presenter Steve Cohen.
The official statement reads: Liverpool Football Club totally condemns the comments regarding the Hillsborough disaster made by the radio and TV broadcaster Steve Cohen.

Mr Cohen has obviously never taken the time to read the Taylor Report which stated clearly that ticketless fans were not a contributory factor or responsible for the events of that day.

To use the 20th anniversary of the disaster to repeat false claims about Liverpool fans (which Mr Cohen first broadcast and then apologised for in 2006) is even more unacceptable.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N164483090521-1657.htm

[SundanceKid]

I've seen Football Fone-In a few times, what a program. The people who call ask the stupidest questions and receive answers that always begin with "I think..." I'm sure no one watches it anyway.

I buy my kits from WorldSoccerShop

[Kharhaz]

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

This quote, attributed to Winston Churchill, is one that Liverpool fans in particular can recognise the wisdom in, certainly since April 16, 1989 - the day after the Hillsborough disaster. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Hillsborough knows that lies have been threaded through the sad and terrible history, popping up at every turn.

Lies to protect, lies to sell, lies to cover up. Liverpool fans have become unfortunately adept at recognising lies. We've seen too many of them, too often, and know there's always someone new to keep them alive.

A new sower of all too familiar lies has emerged in the USA - London-born Chelsea supporter, Steve Cohen. Cohen has two shows, 'Fox Football Fone-In' on Fox Soccer Channel (the main football cable outlet), the other 'World Soccer Daily', a podcast also broadcast on Sirius/XM satellite radio. This makes him one of the more significant voices in the relatively small United States' soccer community.

To even the casual listener's ears, Steve Cohen has an unabashed hatred of all things Liverpool. However, three years ago when discussing Hillsborough and the 96 dead, Cohen went well beyond the realm of impassioned supporter. He blamed Liverpool fans for the deaths and conflated Hillsborough with Heysel. Complaints rained down and a week later he apologised, to management, to viewers, but never to the 96, their families or survivors. He didn't retract his statements, he simply apologised that he got 'wound up' and made 'hurtful statements'. Crucially, he didn't stop. Cohen made numerous subsequent statements about Hillsborough. He simply couldn't let it go.

As the 20th Anniversary of Hillsborough approached, Cohen became emboldened by his disgust for the observance of the anniversary, which he construes as an attempt by Liverpool fans to 'take events that they were... largely responsible for...' and '...somehow turn the world on its head and make themselves the victims.'

Two days before the anniversary, Cohen felt it necessary to sully the remembrance by railing: "I'm still reading the same old stuff about who's responsible - its the police, its the stadium, whatever" before going on to fabricate evidence: "Nobody discusses the 6,000-8,000 who showed up without tickets and my argument has always been, if those people don't show up, this never happens."

Liverpool fans got word of these comments and sprung into action. Mel Abshier of the Dallas branch (of the North American Liverpool Supporters) first engaged Cohen asking for the truth to be told. These exchanges were fruitless; it was made clear that these were Cohen's opinions, tough luck. Undeterred, Liverpool supporters around the USA put their disgust to good use. Cohen was entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts. Mel unified the North American branches behind a single complaint. The LFCNY (the official supporters' club in New York) also acted, using its media contacts. Two parallel campaigns fighting the lies.

Mel put in yeoman's work getting the email addresses of the sponsors and started a campaign. The LFCNY did the same and, suddenly, a deluge of emails inundated sponsors. As they were made aware of Cohen's litany of hurtful statements, sponsors quickly began to distance themselves. FourFourTwo had no problem dropping him. Fado Pubs, an Irish pub chain, denied him access for outside broadcasts and local advertising. 365-inc, replica shirt suppliers, were appalled and ended their business relationship. WhoAre Ya Designs, a t-shirt maker, refused to re-up their expiring contract.

The campaign gathered steam and exposed more and more people to Cohen's extensive back catalogue of lies. There was widespread shock as to the depths Cohen had plumbed in his show on February 22, 2009 where, incensed by fans' desire to change the Champions League game that coincided with the 20th Hillsborough Memorial, he mocked Liverpool 'milking' the Hillsborough tragedy. Cohen went on to say: "They are not the victims [of Hillsborough], they are the perpetrators... they are the most despicable people." Cohen told his audience that the Hillsborough Justice Campaign 'couldn't be more corrupt or blatantly ridiculous' and finally remarked that these Liverpool fans were 'the scum of the earth'.

Cohen was forced to issue yet another one of his infamous apologies, or as he put it 'putting this c.rap to bed'. Much like the apology three years ago, there was no mention of the 96 dead, their families, or Hillsborough, nor was there any retraction of his unsubstantiated lies about the cause of the disaster. In fact, within the week he reiterated a somewhat more muted: "I still think there's shared responsibility." Immediately following his 'apology', Cohen spoke about the campaign against him. Liverpool fans were denounced as 'thugs', 'terrorists' and 'worse than the Taliban'.

The aim of the campaign is to get Steve Cohen off the air. We want him gone from Fox Soccer Channel, gone from Sirius/XM. Gone. We continue to peaceably exercise our first amendment rights by emailing sponsors and we have still more arrows in our quiver. New avenues are being explored, new companies are being contacted, new supporters are being found. Celtic Supporters' Clubs of North America have joined our campaign, Liverpool FC have issued a statement condemning Cohen, and there's still more to come.

96 fans of our fellow Liverpool fans went to an FA Cup semi-final over 20 years ago and never came home. Steve Cohen is discovering how intrinsic the 96 and Hillsborough are to Liverpool. The 96 are as much part of the DNA of Liverpool Football Club as the five European Cups and 18 League Championships. They were ours, that's the bond. And that's why we guard their memory and their reputation so closely, wherever their memory is impugned. They are with us every day, every game.

They are dead and they cannot answer for themselves, but we can and we will. Fight the lies. We answer for them, we fight for them because they cannot, because they are dead. But they are us. Liverpool. We may have been 3-0 down, but Stevie G has put in the first, Vladi has knocked in the second and Xabi is standing over the ball on the penalty spot.

Conor Brennan is Vice President of LFCNY Supporters' Club, Alastair Cairns is the creator of the boycott Steven Cohen website located here.

___


I think it was Igor who pointed this out a while back but I didnt pay too much attention to it. I just took it as some prat trying to be controversial for the hell of trying to be famous but after reading what he has come out with he really is that ignorant. What a poor excuse for a human being. He refuses to look at reason and is so self absorbed in himself, what he says is right and cannot understand why people are mourning this disaster.

What a horrible little creep.

[Sir Roger]

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

This quote, attributed to Winston Churchill, is one that Liverpool fans in particular can recognise the wisdom in, certainly since April 16, 1989 - the day after the Hillsborough disaster. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Hillsborough knows that lies have been threaded through the sad and terrible history, popping up at every turn.

Lies to protect, lies to sell, lies to cover up. Liverpool fans have become unfortunately adept at recognising lies. We've seen too many of them, too often, and know there's always someone new to keep them alive.

A new sower of all too familiar lies has emerged in the USA - London-born Chelsea supporter, Steve Cohen. Cohen has two shows, 'Fox Football Fone-In' on Fox Soccer Channel (the main football cable outlet), the other 'World Soccer Daily', a podcast also broadcast on Sirius/XM satellite radio. This makes him one of the more significant voices in the relatively small United States' soccer community.

To even the casual listener's ears, Steve Cohen has an unabashed hatred of all things Liverpool. However, three years ago when discussing Hillsborough and the 96 dead, Cohen went well beyond the realm of impassioned supporter. He blamed Liverpool fans for the deaths and conflated Hillsborough with Heysel. Complaints rained down and a week later he apologised, to management, to viewers, but never to the 96, their families or survivors. He didn't retract his statements, he simply apologised that he got 'wound up' and made 'hurtful statements'. Crucially, he didn't stop. Cohen made numerous subsequent statements about Hillsborough. He simply couldn't let it go.

As the 20th Anniversary of Hillsborough approached, Cohen became emboldened by his disgust for the observance of the anniversary, which he construes as an attempt by Liverpool fans to 'take events that they were... largely responsible for...' and '...somehow turn the world on its head and make themselves the victims.'

Two days before the anniversary, Cohen felt it necessary to sully the remembrance by railing: "I'm still reading the same old stuff about who's responsible - its the police, its the stadium, whatever" before going on to fabricate evidence: "Nobody discusses the 6,000-8,000 who showed up without tickets and my argument has always been, if those people don't show up, this never happens."

Liverpool fans got word of these comments and sprung into action. Mel Abshier of the Dallas branch (of the North American Liverpool Supporters) first engaged Cohen asking for the truth to be told. These exchanges were fruitless; it was made clear that these were Cohen's opinions, tough luck. Undeterred, Liverpool supporters around the USA put their disgust to good use. Cohen was entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts. Mel unified the North American branches behind a single complaint. The LFCNY (the official supporters' club in New York) also acted, using its media contacts. Two parallel campaigns fighting the lies.

Mel put in yeoman's work getting the email addresses of the sponsors and started a campaign. The LFCNY did the same and, suddenly, a deluge of emails inundated sponsors. As they were made aware of Cohen's litany of hurtful statements, sponsors quickly began to distance themselves. FourFourTwo had no problem dropping him. Fado Pubs, an Irish pub chain, denied him access for outside broadcasts and local advertising. 365-inc, replica shirt suppliers, were appalled and ended their business relationship. WhoAre Ya Designs, a t-shirt maker, refused to re-up their expiring contract.

The campaign gathered steam and exposed more and more people to Cohen's extensive back catalogue of lies. There was widespread shock as to the depths Cohen had plumbed in his show on February 22, 2009 where, incensed by fans' desire to change the Champions League game that coincided with the 20th Hillsborough Memorial, he mocked Liverpool 'milking' the Hillsborough tragedy. Cohen went on to say: "They are not the victims [of Hillsborough], they are the perpetrators... they are the most despicable people." Cohen told his audience that the Hillsborough Justice Campaign 'couldn't be more corrupt or blatantly ridiculous' and finally remarked that these Liverpool fans were 'the scum of the earth'.

Cohen was forced to issue yet another one of his infamous apologies, or as he put it 'putting this c.rap to bed'. Much like the apology three years ago, there was no mention of the 96 dead, their families, or Hillsborough, nor was there any retraction of his unsubstantiated lies about the cause of the disaster. In fact, within the week he reiterated a somewhat more muted: "I still think there's shared responsibility." Immediately following his 'apology', Cohen spoke about the campaign against him. Liverpool fans were denounced as 'thugs', 'terrorists' and 'worse than the Taliban'.

The aim of the campaign is to get Steve Cohen off the air. We want him gone from Fox Soccer Channel, gone from Sirius/XM. Gone. We continue to peaceably exercise our first amendment rights by emailing sponsors and we have still more arrows in our quiver. New avenues are being explored, new companies are being contacted, new supporters are being found. Celtic Supporters' Clubs of North America have joined our campaign, Liverpool FC have issued a statement condemning Cohen, and there's still more to come.

96 fans of our fellow Liverpool fans went to an FA Cup semi-final over 20 years ago and never came home. Steve Cohen is discovering how intrinsic the 96 and Hillsborough are to Liverpool. The 96 are as much part of the DNA of Liverpool Football Club as the five European Cups and 18 League Championships. They were ours, that's the bond. And that's why we guard their memory and their reputation so closely, wherever their memory is impugned. They are with us every day, every game.

They are dead and they cannot answer for themselves, but we can and we will. Fight the lies. We answer for them, we fight for them because they cannot, because they are dead. But they are us. Liverpool. We may have been 3-0 down, but Stevie G has put in the first, Vladi has knocked in the second and Xabi is standing over the ball on the penalty spot.

Conor Brennan is Vice President of LFCNY Supporters' Club, Alastair Cairns is the creator of the boycott Steven Cohen website located here.

___


I think it was Igor who pointed this out a while back but I didnt pay too much attention to it. I just took it as some prat trying to be controversial for the hell of trying to be famous but after reading what he has come out with he really is that ignorant. What a poor excuse for a human being. He refuses to look at reason and is so self absorbed in himself, what he says is right and cannot understand why people are mourning this disaster.

What a horrible little creep.

I dont advocate violence but maybe a kirkby kiss wouldnt be inapropriate?

[J*o*n*D*o*e]

this is what i love about not only being a Liverpool supporter but being a scouser, we stick to inggether and will not just sit there and be shat upon, we get labeled victims and self pity city by morons who have never even visited the place, well no more and this charlie uniform november tango deserves all he gets

[Bad Bob]

I think it was Igor who pointed this out a while back but I didnt pay too much attention to it.

Indeed, it was Igor who started a thread on this very topic already.  Merged.

[Ace Ventura]

Some of the most shocking comments i have read those.

What a disgusting person he is.

[Igor Zidane]

Bumped ,so we can give our brothers and sisters from the other side of the pond a feckin big pat on the back . Well done the lot of you . LFC TRULLY A GLOBAL SUPPORT.




Wynalda replaces Cohen on Fox Football Fone-In

Posted 7/29/2009 7:44 AM EDT

Eric Wynalda is back in broadcasting.

The Hall of Famer and former ESPN commentator will join Fox Football Fone-In, Fox Soccer Channel's Monday night call-in show, when the show's sixth season starts Aug. 10 at a new time of 7 p.m. ET.

"I enjoyed covering the games," Wynalda says. "But being a commentator, following the game around and throwing rocks at your friends isn't necessarily a dream job. It's something that I fought with week-in, week-out.

"I'm still a fan of this game. I still love it. When this opportunity came along -- this is more of a dream job. It's once a week, it's right in my backyard, I don't have to travel, and I still get to do what I love, and that's talk about the game."

Wynalda replaces Steven Cohen, an English-born radio host who recently drew protests from Liverpool fans and the club itself for comments saying unticketed fans were a major factor in the 1989 stadium disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died. U.S. fans of the club led an effort to convince sponsors to distance themselves from Cohen's shows. Cohen apologized (audio, including foul language), claiming he had received death threats.

Neither Wynalda nor Dermot McQuarrie, FSC's senior VP of production and programming and assistant general manager, would comment on Cohen or the Liverpool controversy.

Wynalda has faced controversy in his broadcasting career, being suspended by ESPN after comments he made about radio host Jim Rome surfaced on the Internet. He will be counted on for candid opinions.

He agrees with FIFA President Sepp Blatter that MLS should switch its schedule so players can be available for international transfers and tournaments, though he sees the need for a winter break. He says Landon Donovan played well in the Confederations Cup but is not "an every-game player" who should be counted on to lead the team and excel against all opponents.

"I don't think it's going to be everyone agreeing with each other," McQuarrie says.

Wynalda likes the idea of exchanging opinions with callers.

"When you're a commentator, everybody talks about you and has a problem with you," Wynalda says. "If people want to talk about me or have a problem with something I said, now they have the opportunity to just pick up the phone and call me. I like it. It's a great forum."

Hiring Wynalda does not mean the show will abandon European commentary and stick to the U.S. game. Wynalda, who played in Germany for a couple of years and briefly in Mexico, says he keeps in touch with his European contacts for insight into the major pro leagues there.

Co-host Nick Webster, who remains on the show, works with FSC's English Premier League coverage and will be a producer on Fox's prized acquisition, Europe's Champions League. With that in mind, Fox Football Fone-In will likely maintain a balance between European and American action.

"I think it will be about the same," McQuarrie says. "With having the Champions League now, you've got another aspect to add to it."

Wynalda even has some experience on the lower rungs of the U.S. soccer pyramid, before and after MLS launched.

"Eric's never played for the women's professional soccer league, but that's probably the only league that he hasn't played for that we're looking at," McQuarrie says.

blog post photo

He's also a soccer dad with four kids -- 4, 7, 10 and newborn.

"We spent this past weekend at my daughter's soccer tournament -- being there, being able to be a part of it, not being the guy that's on the phone calling his daughter asking how her game went," Wynalda says. "That's a huge component of my life. I love my kids, I like being around them.

And at his daughter's games, Wynalda shows restraint.

"I have the mute button," Wynalda says. "I've tried really hard to help other parents understand the importance of that as well. As parents, we tell our kids 'no' all the time. Soccer is a great way for them to go find themselves. That's their time to be them and find their own personalities. … This is a time for the kids. So I'm very quiet on the sidelines."

[Bad Bob]

Excellent news! 

[JoeTerp]

wynalda isn't much to listen to, but the real point is ABC (anyone but C*hen)

[JoeTerp]

reading some blogs about the news, and apparently Cohen compared Gerrards verdict to OJ Simpson

[jeffiroquai]

This is great news, well done fellow yanks.  Now I can watch the show without listening to his !

Oh, and Gerrards verdict was just like OJ's, ya know, if he had murded two people and been found not guilty.  Very Similar!

[The Good Yank]

I was wondering if the coverage of the LFC preseason was a bit of an olive branch from FSC to Liverpool fans.  And I'm enjoying the hell out of it.  With the knobend Cohen out, and the preseason featuring, I can withstand Wynalda.  Good job by both LFC fans and FSC for not turning a blind eye.

[JoeTerp]

the commentary for the games has been atrocious though

[The Good Yank]

the commentary for the games has been atrocious though

For the actual games is has been.  But the one lad is a Liverpool fan.  I forget his name, he's the guy that does the Super Sunday show.

Really though, I couldn't give a about the commentary, as long as I get to see the matches.  Also, is the commentary really any worse than ESPN's champs league matches, brought to you all the way from, that's right, Bristol Connecticut?