When Manchester United played Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup in 2006, Alan Smith broke his leg in the final minute when blocking a shot from John Arne Riise. He was given oxygen on the pitch and stretchered off.

As the ambulance left the ground, taking Smith to hospital, it was ambushed by a group of Liverpool supporters. They threw bottles and stones, shouting “Munich scum”, and some even tried to turn it over, as the ambulance became stuck in heavy traffic.

The Merseyside ambulance trust confirmed the attack and released a statement condemning the supporters involved, as reported by the BBC.

It did not result in any delay in transferring the player to hospital but the trust cannot condone this type of behaviour while administering emergency treatment.

Liverpool FC were quick to release a statement too, almost confirming the attack and criticising the Liverpool fans involved.

These people aren’t real fans of football. The actions of a few idiots should not overshadow the efforts of all involved to make sure Alan received the best treatment as soon as possible.

It’s a real pet hate of mine when football clubs and journalists claim that any football fan who does something awful “is not a real fan”. Those Chelsea fans, who travelled to Paris midweek, requiring a ridiculous number of loyalty points from all the other European aways, as well as league home and aways, were not “real fans” when they stopped a black man from getting on the metro. The Liverpool fans who got their hands on cup tickets at Anfield for a game against United were not “real fans” either, apparently. Ok.

The two paramedics, who were both Liverpool fans, claimed they were “horrified” by the hostility shown towards them.

In a news report from the incident back in 2006, it was revealed that Smith was unconscious during the ambulance ride.

Smith had been given a general anaesthetic inside the stadium and therefore did not know what had happened until he came round.

Now, nine years later, Smith claims that his ambulance wasn’t attacked.

It didn’t happen – fans were still in the ground. I went back to Liverpool a few years later with Newcastle and had a great reception. I had loads of mail from fans after the injury, including a lot from Liverpool.

This is a tough one. Do we believe Liverpool FC, the paramedics and the Merseyside ambulance trust, who all confirmed the attack happened, or Alan Smith, who was unconscious at the time? Tricky.