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Liverpool to search United fans for beach balls after club shop sells out
• United supporters planning beach ball tribute
• Liverpool will not ask for replay of Sunderland game
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* Andy Hunter
* The Guardian, Tuesday 20 October 2009
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Jose Reina
Sunderland forward Darren Bent scores past Liverpool's goalkeeper Jose Reina. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images
Liverpool have sold out of the £10 "Beach Set" that diverted the team's title prospects at Sunderland and will search Manchester United supporters for any offending items, including beach balls, before Sunday's Premier League clash at Anfield.
The club's online store has experienced a rush on the "Beach Set" package following Darren Bent's winning goal at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, when his shot struck a Liverpool-crested beach ball and ricocheted beyond goalkeeper José Reina. United supporters are suspected of being behind the increased demand for Liverpool beach products, with a "tribute" to Bent's goal planned but risk having them confiscated at the turnstiles on Sunday. "It will be the normal search policy," said a Liverpool spokesperson.
Rafael BenÃtez, who refused to use Bent's goal as an excuse for Liverpool's fourth league defeat of the season, has no intention of asking for the Sunderland match to be replayed. Precedent exists for replaying matches when a referee has erred over a goal but the Liverpool manager said: "A lot of people are saying this but we will not be asking for a replay."
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Mike Jones, the referee at the centre of the controversy, has been removed from the Premier League match list for this weekend having allowed Bent's effort to stand when the game should have been stopped due to "outside interference". Jones will take charge of Peterborough versus Scunthorpe in the Championship.
The Liverpool manager remains aggrieved at the manner of Saturday's defeat but offered his sympathy yesterday for the match official. "I think that the rule is very clear, everybody knows and all the experts agree that the goal had to be disallowed but we cannot do anything now so we have to move forward," said the Spaniard.
"I don't know if the referee didn't know, maybe he couldn't see. Anyway, I think that is better to move on. I think the referees and Keith Hackett know that a mistake has been made but I do not want to criticise. He is a young referee and there are not too many referees around the world so if you have someone who has a passion and wants to be a good referee then the best thing to do is to just move on."