Gerrard: I wouldn´t confess to cheating

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said he would not confess if he scored a handball winner against Manchester United on Sunday.

Gerrard’s team-mate Luis Suarez was embroiled in another controversy after the ball clearly struck his hand in the lead-up to his goal against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup last weekend, which proved decisive in the Reds’ 2-1 win.

The Uruguayan was castigated by sections of the press and public for not openly admitting his offence, but Gerrard has branded anyone calling him a cheat a hypocrite.

“Look, I’m not going to lie to you – of course I celebrate,” he told The Mirror.

“I can’t sit here and claim I would run to the linesman or referee and say, ‘I’ve handballed it’ at Old Trafford.

“What would Wayne Rooney do?

“What did Roy Carroll do years ago when the ball was four yards over the line? (In reference to a match between Manchester United and Tottenham, involving a contentious goal-line decision)

“I never saw Alex Ferguson or Carroll run to the referee or linesman and say it was over the line, did you?”

Suarez is no stranger to controversy, especially at Old Trafford, but Gerrard believes Liverpool need to concentrate on the match, which he described as still the biggest rivalry in football.

“It is massive, and still the biggest game for both clubs,” he explained.

“They are obviously above us in league titles, but we’ve still got more European Cups than them – so the rivalry is not going anywhere for a long time.”