Liverpool beach ball boy says sorry

LONDON – A teenage Liverpool fan who caused one of the oddest goals in English football history came out of hiding yesterday to apologise profusely for belting a beach ball onto the pitch.

Callum Campbell, 16, told the Sunday Mirror newspaper it was he who whacked the inflatable onto the pitch, triggering Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on October 17.The youngster has faced death threats for his part in a defeat that dented the Reds’ bid to win the Premier League title and locked himself indoors for two days.’It was me,’ Campbell told the tabloid.’I’m the one who did it. I’m the one caught on camera. I’m so, so sorry. This is my worst, worst nightmare.’In the fifth minute of the match, Black Cats striker Darren Bent fired a shot on target, but it hit the Liverpool-branded beach ball, taking a big deflection and completely bamboozling Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina – who went for the wrong ball.Millions around the world have seen the bizarre incident.When the beach ball came Campbell’s way before the kick-off, he punched it onto the Stadium of Light pitch. It went into Reina’s goal but blew out as Sunderland went on the attack.’When I got home I went into the garden and threw up. I was physically sick – and that’s before the death threats started appearing on the Internet the next day,’ Campbell said.’I watched it over and over again, and I still can’t work out how it happened.’But my mum tells me it wasn’t my fault – and that’s what I have to believe. The referee should never have allowed the goal. I just hope the real fans understand and forgive me.’But I accept I shouldn’t have thrown it on to the pitch in the first place.’His uncle Tony Moore said: ‘Let’s say Liverpool are just three points short of winning the league at the end of this season – he’ll be beside himself, thinking they were the points that cost them.’At Campbell’s request, part of the fee for his interview was donated to the Hillsborough Disaster Fund.- Nampa-AFP

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