Gerard Houllier launched a strong defence of Emile Heskey in the wake of the television footage which apparently implicated the Liverpool striker in the Turkish tunnel fracas.
Heskey, who leads Liverpool's attack in the Uefa Cup against Olimpija Ljubljana on Wednesday, could now find himself central to a Uefa inquiry into the tunnel brawl which marred England's draw in Istanbul.
But his club manager Houllier claimed: "Is it being suggested Emile was involved? I did not see that.
"There is an inquiry by Uefa, but if Emile reacted it must have been something very serious whether against him or one of his team-mates.
"I consider that Emile is not the sort of person that reacts, despite the provocation he gets. He is a very quiet man.
"And also I find co-incidental that three players were also involved, not just Emile Heskey. It must have been a reaction to something that had been done.
"It is some people's jobs to make a meal of it. But the referee was excellent, the English team did a marvellous job to keep their cool and composure. That is why they have qualified."
Houllier has deflected some suggestions that there could have been a racial element to the furore.
He said: "If Emile has reacted, it must have been something bad. I have talked to him about it and he has told me what happened, but I will not say because there is an inquiry.
"I do not know whether this is linked to racism, I do not know. But you know Emile, he is not that kind of person to react. But he was not the only one.
"I am not sure there was any racism, I cannot say, let Uefa do the job. A lot of things happen sometimes in tunnels, and there was a lot of people involved in that one.
"But if Emile reacted it must have been something extremely serious. There has been a lot made out of it, whether it was on the field or outside the field, it was a high-tension game. But apart from a few things, I do not think there was a major incident on the pitch.
"I know what happened, but I will wait to see what Uefa say. But there is no problem from me, I like it when players react, it shows they have character. The good thing is it showed the team bonding and spirit."
Heskey, who leads Liverpool's attack in the Uefa Cup against Olimpija Ljubljana on Wednesday, could now find himself central to a Uefa inquiry into the tunnel brawl which marred England's draw in Istanbul.
But his club manager Houllier claimed: "Is it being suggested Emile was involved? I did not see that.
"There is an inquiry by Uefa, but if Emile reacted it must have been something very serious whether against him or one of his team-mates.
"I consider that Emile is not the sort of person that reacts, despite the provocation he gets. He is a very quiet man.
"And also I find co-incidental that three players were also involved, not just Emile Heskey. It must have been a reaction to something that had been done.
"It is some people's jobs to make a meal of it. But the referee was excellent, the English team did a marvellous job to keep their cool and composure. That is why they have qualified."
Houllier has deflected some suggestions that there could have been a racial element to the furore.
He said: "If Emile has reacted, it must have been something bad. I have talked to him about it and he has told me what happened, but I will not say because there is an inquiry.
"I do not know whether this is linked to racism, I do not know. But you know Emile, he is not that kind of person to react. But he was not the only one.
"I am not sure there was any racism, I cannot say, let Uefa do the job. A lot of things happen sometimes in tunnels, and there was a lot of people involved in that one.
"But if Emile reacted it must have been something extremely serious. There has been a lot made out of it, whether it was on the field or outside the field, it was a high-tension game. But apart from a few things, I do not think there was a major incident on the pitch.
"I know what happened, but I will wait to see what Uefa say. But there is no problem from me, I like it when players react, it shows they have character. The good thing is it showed the team bonding and spirit."