Gordon finally forgives Defoe for broken arm
CRAIG Gordon last night insisted his feud with new Rangers signing Jermain Defoe is over – nine years after the Celtic keeper’s arm was broken by the striker.
Gordon was a Sunderland player when in a game against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in November 2009, he and Defoe collided, an incident which left the Scotland man with a badly broken arm which kept him out for three months.
At the time, Gordon blamed Defoe in public and refused to accept an apology from him, but while the two are now set to face one another again, the Celtic man is happy to look forward.
Although it’s clear that this is a case of forgive, but don’t forget.
Gordon said: “It’s a long time now and it should probably remain in the past and
we can get on with it. It was him that caused my broken arm, a lot of years ago, a lot of water under the bridge since then, so I’ll be getting on with it.
“I wasn’t happy at the time. I was annoyed. I did think he meant to kick me rather than the ball, which happens in tackles anyway.
“Sometimes you mean to give the player a little kick, that can happen, and I’m not suggesting he meant to break my arm. He’s not that type of player. He never would have meant to do that.
“I have felt it was a bad challenge which didn’t need to be made. That does happen in games. I’m not going to make a big thing about it.
“That’s done and in the past. I feel strong, I’ve come back. I feel strong. It’s not something that will be in my mind.
“He did try to contact me afterwards but I declined the opportunity to speak to him. I was still too angry.
“I played against him for Sunderland after it. He was just another player. It’s not something you can go into a game thinking about. Lots of players get injured because of a tackle, you play against them and that’s just the way it is. I would shake his hand. No problem. I’m just going to get on with the game. There won’t be any problem between us.”
Defoe at 36 is older than Gordon but the Celtic No 1 believes Rangers might have signed a gem given what the former England striker has done so far in his career.
Gordon said: “He’s scored a lot of goals and that will make people sit up and take notice. He’s coming to the end of his career but in terms of goalscoring there hasn’t been many better around the British game over recent years.”