Media out to 'destroy' Owen, says Houllier

In a fierce defence of his most precious asset, Gérard Houllier denounced the English media for attempting to bring down Michael Owen over his passion for gambling on horses.

Owen has admitted to losing £40,000, 10 times less than the amount blown by the Chelsea striker, Eidur Gudjohnsen, in London casinos and a trifling sum for one whose basic annual wage before a series of lucrative endorsements is more than £3.5m. However, one Sunday newspaper accused Owen and his family of making bets totalling more than £2m with a single bookmaker over a three-year period, an allegation denied by the player and his father, Terry.

Houllier, brought up in France, where celebrities are protected by fierce privacy laws, said: "I told him: 'Don't let them destroy you because you're stronger than that.' In England it's common practice that, when you have a player doing well for the national team, they want to ruin his career and his reputation. It's a national sport in England.

"He told me there was a lot of exaggeration. The way they [the media] do things to high-profile players, they have to be strong. It happened to Stevie Gerrard, it's Michael now. David Beckham has had to endure that so often in England because you are allowed to talk about private lives, in France you are not allowed to do that."

Owen has never disguised his passion for racing. Like his former team-mates at Anfield, Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler, Owen owns several racehorses, although none has been especially successful, and he is in the process of moving into a new house in the Welsh borders which has its own stables.

Paul Merson, who admitted to being addicted to betting and quit Middlesbrough in September 1998 alleging he was being driven out by a "gambling culture" at the club, has also defended Owen. "They are very wealthy people, they earn huge sums of money, they're not allowed to drink, they're not allowed to go out, they can't take drugs, so what are they going to do with their money?"

Betting has long been part of the fabric of Anfield. Card schools thrived under Bob Paisley, whose only proviso was that if players fell out over gambling it would be banned. "I'm glad he likes horses because you need to have a passion," said Houllier, echoing Merson. "You must be able to do something in life. In the same way he has a passion for the game; he trains hard, he does everything right on and off the pitch; that's why he's won awards and trophies with us. He doesn't drink, he doesn't go out at night, he's very professional and enthusiastic."

Someone who owns a property portfolio of £5m is unlikely to be made homeless through gambling, as Steve Claridge was after blowing his entire signing-on fee at the bookies, or declared bankrupt through the habit, a fate suffered by Peter Shilton. Houllier pointed out that several high-profile managers, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan, have revelled in their love of horseracing without suffering any criticism.

It is, however, difficult to accept Houllier's argument that his Liverpool players do not bet when they play cards. However, most fans are likely to accept his insistence that "it is no great deal or major problem".

On the eve of perhaps Liverpool's most important match in the season so far, tonight's semi-final second leg of the Worthington Cup against Sheffield United, Houllier said: "All the fans want is a performance on the pitch and he has done that on a regular basis. People will always exaggerate, especially the media. I read recently we [pay] Jerzy Dudek £70,000 a week. That says it all."

The Liverpool manager is more concerned about whether Owen can help overturn a 2-1 deficit tonight. In the first leg Houllier was wound up to distraction by the Sheffield United manager, Neil Warnock, and was left incensed by a horribly late tackle by Michael Brown on his goalkeeper, Chris Kirkland.

Warnock was confronted after the match by Houllier's assistant, Phil Thompson, although his threats made little impression. The Blades' captain, Robert Page, rejected Liverpool's accusations that his side had been too physical, saying: "It's the semi-final of a cup competition and it's a contact sport, for God's sake."

Yesterday, Warnock was playing the diplomat. "We know, with the technical ability they have, if they play the way they can, they can get four or five. If you were a betting man, you would put money on them." Michael Owen, however, is likely to resist the temptation.