Liverpool boardroom crisis takes ugly turn

BEIJING, April 12 -- Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry described co-owner Tom Hicks' demand for his resignation as "offensive" coming so soon after the club reached the Champions League semifinals.

Arriving for work as normal yesterday at Anfield, Parry said he is yet to see the letter from the American businessman calling on him to quit and that he only knows of its contents from media reports.

Liverpool beat Arsenal 5-3 on aggregate on Tuesday to reach the semifinals of the Champions League for the third time in four years, and Parry has criticized the timing of Hicks' demand.

"This week, I shouldn't be the story. The story should be the team," Parry said. "It's offensive to the manager, the players, the fans. In a week when we had another great European triumph, there's more dirty linen being washed."

It is the latest chapter in a bitter civil war that has engulfed Liverpool in recent months as the partnership between Hicks and co-owner George Gillett Jr. has collapsed.

A person familiar with the situation said that Hicks said he is frustrated by Parry's ability to run the club. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Hicks' main concerns are supposedly that Parry is slow and unresponsive when dealing with manager Rafa Benitez and the signing of players, and that he is disrespectful to fans, particularly over tickets for last season's Champions League final.

After 10 years as Liverpool chief executive, Parry is vowing to fight on.

"No individual, certainly not me, is bigger than the club," he said. "But once again it shows there's a little bit of lack of unity at the top.

"I'm just getting on with the job - there's work to do."

The Reds play at Blackburn tomorrow as they look to seal the fourth place in the Premier League.

(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)