David James briefly became public enemy number one at Anfield on Sunday after saving a young boy's half-time penalty - twice.
The former Liverpool stopper returned to his old stomping ground for the 2-1 win over Chelsea to help promote Standard Chartered's community engagement program, 'Futuremakers'.
But his interpretation of community outreach was rather crooked as he left the boy, reportedly aged 11, 'absolutely gutted' after his dream of scoring in front of the Kop was dashed.
Boos rained down from the Kop and James showed little remorse for leaving a young supporter crestfallen.
To rub salt into the wound, footage elsewhere shows the 54-year-old conceding a limp effort from an adult male fan that most Sunday League goalkeepers would have denied.
Perhaps James spurning the child was no surprise. He saved 13 penalties during his Premier League career, a record which is yet to be surpassed.
Luckily the Anfield faithful had plenty to cheer as goals from Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones, who recently became a father, outdid Nicolas Jackson's effort to keep Arne Slot's men top of the Premier League.
However, James' antics between the sticks in what was meant to be a feel-good half-time shoot-out has left fans divided.
'What a bell***, whether you meant to save it or not. As an ex-keeper, you should’ve made sure you didn’t save that 2nd pen and allowed that young lad to score a penalty in front of the Kop. Would’ve been a fantastic memory for him,' wrote one fan on X, formerly Twitter.
'Honestly, this says so much about you. None of it good,' said another.
'Sometimes in life, you gotta learn the hard way, but yeah this was messed up,' one wrote.
Others showed little sympathy for the young kicker.
'David James brutally destroyed an 11-year-old child’s dream of scoring at Anfield by saving his penalty. Top s***house,' said one.
'Haha, I shouted save it from behind the goal. Take no prisoners,' wrote another.
'F***ing have that. That boy must learn to lose,' said one.
It seemed that James was unbothered by any backlash as he is the one who shared the clip of him saving the penalty online, making no nod to the boy's devastation.
Other fans pointed out that the incident was similar to Michael Owen smashing shots past a young goalkeeper on his 'Soccer Skills' show and wildly celebrating, prompting the timeless observation from Neville Southall: 'Well done, he's 13.'
