Advertisement
John Walton/EMPICS Sport

Huh? Was Muammar Gaddafi a secret Liverpool fan?

Evidence recovered from the villa where the Libyan dictator spent his final weeks hints at a link to the Anfield club.

IN THE LIFE and times of Muammar Gaddafi, truth was often stranger than fiction.

Now the Daily Mail has obtained photographs from inside the villa where the Libyan dictator spent the final weeks before his murder, showing some of his personal effects — including a Liverpool FC mug.

This is not the first time that the Gaddafi family has been linked with the Anfield club.

In 2002, Gaddafi’s son Saadi — who played football in Italy’s Serie A and for the Libyan national side — was reportedly considering an investment in the Reds.

Saadi, who was then operating as an adviser to the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, said: ”Maybe we make a deal with them to market their merchandise or we invest in the new stadium they are building. When I meet the management of Liverpool I will discuss this with them.”

However, until now Gaddafi Sr’s supposed love for Liverpool has remained a secret. A report in the Daily Mirror earlier this year suggested that his loyalties actually lay with the blue half of the city since an Everton tour of Libya in 1979.

Everton’s win against Sunderland will have provided some temporary relief for one of their biggest fans. That’s none other than umbrella-wielding mentalist Colonel Gaddafi, who has been following the team since the late 1970s.

Gaddafi’s love of the Toffees is said to have begun when Everton visited Libya on tour in 1979. The dictator was so impressed he immediately changed the Libyan national side’s kit to all-blue, and rewarded each of Gordon Lee’s side with a luxury Arabic carpet.

Gaddafi joins a growing list of well known personalities who have flaunted their red connections in recent weeks, including NBA superstar LeBron James who visited Anfield for the recent 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Manchester United.

Nor is this the first time that a reviled political figure has had their Premier League affiliations touted.

In a biography of Osama bin Laden, author Adam Robinson wrote that the former Al-Qaeda leader developed an affinity for Arsenal while living in London during the early 1990s.

Despite some sections of the Gunners support immortalising this alleged relationship in terrace chants, the Guardian moved to debunk it as a myth after his death.

Villa player arrested on suspicion of drink driving

Eurostar: Milan bounce back, Bayern lose, and little Joey Cole

Close
15 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan Murphy™
    Favourite Alan Murphy™
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 12:46 PM

    This is true, it was on 6-1 news. Oh wait it wasnt, I just had 6-1 on the brain for some reason

    47
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Curley
    Favourite Paul Curley
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 11:59 AM

    So he was mad

    44
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diarmuid Donoghue
    Favourite Diarmuid Donoghue
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 12:22 PM

    Ha ha class

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daniel O'Sullivan
    Favourite Daniel O'Sullivan
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 11:53 AM

    hopefully he left Liverpool money to buy more players

    32
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Andy Kavanagh
    Favourite Andy Kavanagh
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 1:37 PM

    Yeah shame he wasn’t alive to watch the Manchester massacre at castle grey skull, it’s seems getting murdered in your home town by fellow citizens of the same city is all the rage both in libya and Manchester .

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Billygoatmuff
    Favourite Billygoatmuff
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 12:31 PM

    If he wanted to really hide, he should of gone into their trophy room!

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Conor Fuller
    Favourite Conor Fuller
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 1:34 PM

    Easy to hide behind 5 euro cups

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Andy Kavanagh
    Favourite Andy Kavanagh
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 1:43 PM

    Yeah shame he never got to see the Manchester massacre at castle grey skull, it seems getting slaughtered in your home town by your fellow city rivals is all the rage both in Libya and Manchester (nice to see the blues beat the cockneys).

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aidan Gill
    Favourite Aidan Gill
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 1:13 PM

    Shame he spent the last 22 years waiting for a title! He died not seeing a PL title go to liverpool. Then again if he lived for another 10 years he wouldn’t see on either! ;)

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Donnelly
    Favourite David Donnelly
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 1:10 PM

    He was left to walk alone if he was

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fergal O Shea
    Favourite Fergal O Shea
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 12:55 PM

    Wouldn’t have minded if he invested a bit in Everton. Could do with the cash. Too late now I suppose

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Spaghetti Hoop
    Favourite Spaghetti Hoop
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 12:30 PM

    This has been done before! A similar rumour quickly spread last May suggesting that Osama Bin Laden was a big fan of The IT Crowd sitcom on account of the DVDs found at his home. It turned out to be an elaborate new media hoax – initiated by IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan. Publicity stunt.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute jumpthecat
    Favourite jumpthecat
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 1:02 PM

    Must be the same Graham Lenihan, created of Father Ted, whose still pushing out that same comedy in the form Cardinal Rules here every week?
    15 years after father ted..

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Pete Gibson
    Favourite Pete Gibson
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 5:07 PM

    Osama Bin Ladin would have a natural affinity with Arsenal FC.
    The word Arsenal means “a store of armaments”.
    The crest of Arsenal FC is a cannon gun.
    Their nickname is “The Gunners”.

    Right up Bin Ladin’s street.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Cags David Cagney
    Favourite Cags David Cagney
    Report
    Oct 25th 2011, 9:28 PM

    Carefull children, all the loonies from the ‘What the fluich’ article will be over saying you’re not respecting the dead.

    2
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.