Reds Supporter Who Held Back Mario Balotelli Was Worried He'd Get Sent Off'

The arms and face of Liverpool fan Shaun Leatherbarrow became instantly famous as he helped restrain Mario Balotelli from going after Chris Smalling on Sunday. 

The Liverpool Echo helped identify Leatherbarrow and tracked him down to get his side of the story.

A lifelong fan of the club and a builder, Leatherbarrow is to Balotelli's right in the sunglasses.

His quick thinking likely saved Balotelli from a second yellow card and his marching orders, which would have reduced the Reds to just nine men.

He confirmed as much:

"

I was worried he'd get sent off. 

The way I saw it Smalling sort of shoved Mario off the pitch and Mario grabbed him just to have something to grab on to. 

I could tell from Mario's body language he was ready to react and I knew he'd already had a yellow card. 

I was saying 'calm down, leave it, leave it' and he was saying 'OK, OK.' 

I'm only 5'8" and he's a big lad so I was struggling to get my arms around him. 

Peter, the lad who sits next to me at the ground, helped me and he's a police officer who sometimes works at Anfield on match days. 

Afterward all the lads were laughing and patting me on the back as well as having a go at Smalling.

"

[Liverpool Echo]