This is how ugly it's gotten for Tom Hicks: U.K. cops have begged the co-owner of Liverpool FC to stay away from tonight's Champions League semi-final match against Chelsea, set to start shortly at Anfield. According to myriad reports from England, Merseyside Police warned Hicks and co-owner George Gillett, with whom the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers' owner has been warring over ownership of the soccer team, that if they did intend to show, they might find themselves less than safe. No doubt, police worry Hicks will come under siege from Liverpool fans furious over his public comments concerning the team, which he and Gillett bought in February 2007, and its management.
Says an official with the Merseyside police: "We can confirm that advice has been given to Liverpool Football club regarding the attendance of the club's owners, however we are not in a position to discuss any individual's safety. As with any other football event, the safety of those attending has been reviewed. Merseyside Police has deployed the appropriate number of police officers alongside stewards to tonight's match."
Hicks is attending nonetheless. Gillett, however, can't make it; he's sick ... to death of Tom Hicks? But Hicks' arch rival, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry, will be there, sitting alongside the man who currently owns the worst team in the American League. --Robert Wilonsky
