Warnock blasts Benitez for Liverpool’s Champions League final omission

A former Liverpool player has hit out at Reds boss Rafa Benitez for the way he was treated.

Benitez is most famous for winning the Champions League with the Anfield club in 2005 – although Warnock was omitted for the game.

Speaking on Under the Cosh podcast,Stephen Warnock hit out at Benitez, saying: “It was difficult for me because I’m a Liverpool fan, I grew up sitting in the Kop and everything. I thought “I hate the damn team, like what’s going on here.” I was furious, I was so angry.

“I didn’t hate the team, I hated Rafa. I sat there thinking, “I’m so happy for the boys, but I’m also excited about how things turned out.”

He then added: “I remember that night I was just going to bed and they said, ‘Okay, the plane leaves this time in the morning to go to the parade in Liverpool.’ And then they changed it and said, “all the team that was involved, the 18 and their wives or girlfriends.”

“So they got them all together, bearing in mind that they had come on our flight, the wives and girlfriends, and we flew back separately. I missed the parade, watched it on Sky Sports.

“Our flight was late arriving. The boys literally landed at Liverpool Airport, were transported to buses and then the parade began. I remember thinking ‘what a *** show'”.