Jamie O’Hara clashed with a Liverpool fan on live TV as he argued against Trent Alexander-Arnold’s reception on his return to Anfield, branding the booing he received as “nasty”.
The former Reds vice-captain’s first game against his boyhood club didn’t go as he would’ve liked, with Real Madrid falling to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League.
In truth, it could have been a much bigger scoreline had it not been for Thibaut Courtois, with Liverpool full deserving of its victory as the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham failed to live up to the hype for the visitors.
Alexander-Arnold, in particular, was given a negative reception upon his return, having made the move to the Bernabeu from Anfield during the summer.
The home fans loudly booed him as he made his way out to warm up, and as he came off the bench during the second half with Xabi Alonso desperately trying to rescue a draw for his side.
It wasn’t just the fans that gave Alexander-Arnold a frosty welcome back, with his former captain Virgil van Dijk seemingly having not been in the mood to speak to him after the game.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: Trent Alexander-Arnold of Real Madrid looks dejected after the team's defeat in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid C.F. at Anfield on November 04, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed on his return to Anfield with Real Madrid (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The reaction from Liverpool’s supporters has received a mixed verdict from some pundits, who feel Alexander-Arnold should have been given a more positive reception, despite fans clearly still being disgruntled with the manner in which he ran down his contract.
Former Tottenham and Wolves midfielder O’Hara is among those to have defended the 27-year-old, and he was involved in a heated argument with Liverpool fan Peter Bolster on Sky Sports News over the reception on Tuesday night.
Bolster began by explaining: “That’s fine if you leave Liverpool, it’s absolutely fine. No former Liverpool player comes back to Anfield and gets booed, let’s get that thing straight as well, that doesn’t happen.
“Liverpool fans are among the only fans in the world that welcomes ex-players back all the time. You see them in the Main Stand, they’re there week in, week out.
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“This is completely different, and the wider media have misjudged it because they don’t know exactly what’s gone on. It’s the fact that he gaslit the fans.”
O’Hara then chimed in, saying: “You don’t know what’s gone on either. You don’t know what’s gone on with the conversations he’s had at Liverpool, you don’t know what’s gone on with the conversations he’s had with his family, you’re guessing.
“Everyone will have a guess, and you can look at it, you don’t know what Real Madrid offered him, you don’t know what the conversations were with Liverpool. They offered you £20 million in January, and you didn’t want it. You could have got money for him then, but you said no.”
Bolster replied: “We did get money in the end anyway, so he didn’t leave on a free transfer.”
O’Hara responded: “Yeah, five million to go and play in the Club World Cup.
“I just thought it was really harsh from Liverpool fans. I think Liverpool fans are amazing, you’re amazing fans, the way you are with your players, the way you support your team, you’re incredible.
“I can’t get my head around that nastiness there was, that was nasty last night I thought.”
Liverpool.com says: Some of the discourse after last night’s reception for Alexander-Arnold has been downright bizarre. He’s no longer a Liverpool player, and supporters were clearly disgruntled with the manner in which he left in the summer.
If O’Hara can’t get his head around it, then he clearly hasn’t been paying much attention. Then again, no matter how much Liverpool fans will clearly explain their feelings, they’ll just keep getting shouted down by pundits like him.