"I will speak to him about what has happened," said Houllier. "He knows it was not right but, at the same time, it's a man's game.
"I stand by him absolutely and can understand what happened. There was a lot of provocation going on and I don't want him to change.
"I want him to keep his cool because there will always be provocation because of his reputation. But I don't want to take the competitive element out of him.
"The boy is very disappointed. I think Hakan Sukur was out of order - he pinched him from behind and then, of course, Stevie reacted and there were immediately six or seven players around him.
"He was wrong to react and he knows that, but I know Stevie well enough to know it is definitely not a problem for the future."
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