Former Bristol City keeper David James heckled and dubbed a 'villain' on visit to Liverpool's Anfield

The 54-year-old found himself in the unusual position of being labelled an Anfield ‘villain’ after he, erm, saved two spot-kicks in a penalty shootout event stage during half-time in the Reds’ Premier League victory against Chelsea.

Traditionally, pulling off such saves would have made the former England international, who spent seven years at Liverpool, an instant Kop hero.

Not on this occasion, though, with the now 54-year-old on the receiving end of some flak after he twice denied a young fan the chance to score in front of a packed house!

James was present as part of Standard Chartered’s community engagement programme ‘Futuremakers’. But he wasn’t feeling charitable when it game to donning his gloves again and lining up against his opponent - no matter their age.

Indeed, after rolling back the clock to keep the ball out of the net, he turned round to supporters sat in the Kop to joking brag about his latest clean sheet.

Yet he failed to read to mood inside, with many Reds subsequently heckling his most recent performance in a Liverpool shirt.

Footage of the controviersial moment has since appeared on X, formerly Twitter. However, it appears social media might have taken a different stance to those present inside Anfield.

One user wrote: ‘That’s the right thing to do. Don’t give kids free passes. Let them learn the value of working hard for everything’. Another commented: ‘It’s a good lesson for young fans they will surely practice more next time’. Meanwhile, a third said: ‘We stand with David James’.

To counteract the defence of the former Pompey FA cup-winning keeper, one X user wrote: ‘Shameless… that was a kid and he should have allowed to score some goals’.

James made 84 appearances for the Robins over two seasons following his free-transfer move from Portsmouth in 2010. The 53-times capped England international former clubs also include Manchester City, West Ham, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Watford.