It was the great Bill Shankly, the man who guided Liverpool to glory during his 16 years as manager, who once said ‘some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that’.

I doubt he meant for it to be taken to this degree though, as a man in Durban stands accused of murdering his good friend over some footie-related banter. The accused, Prebashan Moodley, is a former police captain and has plead not guilty to the charges. This from IOL:

Moodley has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, but has pleaded guilty to negligence in handling a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

He has indicated that he is prepared to plead guilty to a culpable homicide as he did not intend to murder his friend.

Moodley has claimed that he was attempting to illustrate his firearm-handling expertise and was shooting at a can when he accidentally killed his friend Kevin Maistry. It seems the state isn’t buying that though, and another witness has a rather different recollection of events. IOL again:

“I was mocking him about Liverpool, which had lost 2-0 to Arsenal that night. I am an Everton supporter. He got heated up. He drew his firearm, cocked it and fired at Maistry, who was seated at the braai stand with his back to us,” Baijnath said.

“Devendhren and I grabbed his hand and led him up the driveway. He said ‘I am sorry, I am sorry’.

I will admit to having irrational desires to strike out at friends during tense sporting encounters, but popping a cap in someone’s back seems a bit extreme. Then again, anyone who has ever been to Liverpool would know this isn’t uncommon behaviour around those parts.

[source:iol]