Owen reveals death threats
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Your support makes all the difference.Michael Owen said he too has received death threats, following the news of the sinister letter sent to the Liverpool manager, Gérard Houllier.
Owen scored an early goal in Bulgaria last night to help send Liverpool into the last 16 of the Uefa Cup with a 6-2 aggregate victory over Levski Sofia.
But the match was overshadowed by the death-threat letter Houllier received three weeks ago which is being investigated by Merseyside Police. Owen said: "Sadly these days it seems it can happen to anyone in a high-profile position. I cannot tell you how many times it has happened to me now.
"It is the kind of thing I do not think would have happened years ago but is happening to people in the game regularly now. There are things in football and in life which change, and this is one of the aspects which has come into football more and more."
Owen has no doubt he and Houllier are among many personalities in the top level of football - including the England captain, David Beckham - who find themselves on the receiving end of such "hate mail".
"If you speak to David Beckham, I am sure he will tell you this kind of thing has happened to him about a dozen times," Owen said.
"It has happened to me lots of times as well. It is not just letters either; some things have happened that could be considered even worse.
"To be honest, although it is unfair and awful, nothing surprises me any more. It should not happen and it is not acceptable, but it has almost become part and parcel of the game nowadays."
Owen sympathises with his manager, who has come in for persistent flak in recent months for Liverpool's perceived under-achievement. The England forward added: "There is no place for this kind of thing in the game or in life.
"But, knowing the manager as I do, he is handling it in the right way. He knows it is just one person and he will see it for what it is. You cannot let it get to you."
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