Michail Antonio continues to stoke the flames of his ongoing feud with Liverpool by taking yet another public swipe against their supporters.
The Jamaica international lit the touchpaper in September when, prior to West Ham’s league visit to Anfield, he predicted that his side would finish above the Reds this season.
Last week, the 33-year-old hit out at LFC yet again by saying that he doesn’t want us to become champions this year, and he’s now doubled down on this comments on the latest episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast.
Antonio bragged: “Listen, I’m saying it with chest – I do not want Liverpool to win the league! You know why? It’s because of these fans. They’ve been in my comments, they’ve been all over my social media.
“It has probably been 10 times worse since I said it and I’m still going to say it. Until the end of this season I’ve got a war with you Liverpool fans!
“Next season we’ll start afresh, but until this season ends I’m warring you, I’m against you and I want other people to win. Next season I may back up to Liverpool because I’ve had a soft spot for you guys over the last couple of years. But this season? Nah, we ain’t friends this year.”Antonio’s co-host Callum Wilson refused to pile on, instead asking the currently injured West Ham striker if he’d be fit to play against Liverpool on 27 April, to which the 33-year-old replied: “Yeah I will be. Aw, I’m so excited to watch this!”
If Antonio privately doesn’t want Liverpool to win the Premier League, that’s fair enough, but his ongoing public feud against the Reds (which he’s antagonising) is just childish and not what you want to see from a currently active footballer operating in the same division as the club at whom he’s taking aim.
His comments in September came back to haunt him as he missed a sitter in West Ham’s 3-1 defeat at Anfield, and he could only watch on from afar as injury ruled him out of the Irons’ 5-1 thrashing on Merseyside in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals just before Christmas.
You’d like to think that David Moyes would wind him in and implore the striker not to be continually goading fellow top-flight opposition in public, particularly when the teams will face each other again later in the season. Indeed, they could also meet in the Europa League should they both progress in the competition.
Antonio really isn’t helping himself with his petty tirades against Liverpool on his podcast, although we obviously don’t condone any personal abuse being sent to him over his comments (if that is happening). All we ask is that he cease and desist with his ridiculous anti-LFC agenda; it’s needless and unprofessional.
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