- David James left a young boy ‘absolutely gutted’ after saving his two penalties
- Football fans dream of scoring in front of the crowd, but James had other ideas
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David James briefly became public enemy number one at Anfield on Sunday after twice saving a young boy’s half-time penalty.
The former Liverpool stopper returned to his old stage for the 2-1 win over Chelsea to promote Standard Chartered’s community engagement programme, ‘Futuremakers’.
But his interpretation of community outreach was rather warped when he left the boy, said to be 11, ‘absolutely gutted’ after his dream of scoring for the Kop was shattered.
Boos rained from the Kop and James showed little remorse for leaving a young supporter dejected.
To rub salt in the wound, footage elsewhere shows the 54-year-old receiving a lame try from an adult male fan that most Sunday League goalkeepers would have denied.
David James sparked outrage from the stands at Anfield after saving two penalties from a young fan
The ex-Liverpool goalkeeper added a cheeky twist to the concept of community involvement
It was a decent strike from the young lad dressed in Liverpool red, but not enough to beat James
The saves provoked mixed reactions from supporters. Some were annoyed, but others laughed
Perhaps it was no surprise that James rejected the child. He saved thirteen penalties during his Premier League career, a record that has yet to be surpassed.
Fortunately, the Anfield faithful had plenty to cheer as goals from recently-became fathers Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones surpassed Nicolas Jackson’s effort to keep Arne Slot’s men at the top of the Premier League.
However, James’ antics between the sticks in what was intended to be a feel-good half-time shoot-out have divided fans.
‘What a bell***, whether you wanted to keep it or not. As an ex-professional goalkeeper you should have made sure you didn’t save that 2nd pin and let that young lad score a penalty for the Kop. Would have been a fantastic memory for him,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Honestly, this says so much about you. It’s all not good,” said another.
“Sometimes in life you have to learn the hard way, but yeah, this was a mess,” one person wrote.
Liverpool remained top in the Premier League thanks to a 2-1 win over Chelsea at home
Others showed little sympathy for the young kicker.
‘David James brutally destroys an 11-year-old’s dream of scoring at Anfield by saving his penalty. Top s***house,” said one.
‘Haha I shouted ‘save it’ from behind the goal. Take no prisoners,” wrote another.
“F***ing, got that. That boy needs to learn to lose,’ said one.
It didn’t seem like James was bothered by any backlash as he was the one who shared the clip of him saving the penalty online, without nodding to the boy’s devastation.
Other fans pointed out that the incident was similar to Michael Owen shooting past a young goalkeeper and celebrating wildly during his ‘Soccer Skills’ show, prompting Neville Southall’s timeless observation: ‘Well done, he is 13.’