Michael Shields' parents in Anfield plea to free jailed son

Liverpool players have also agreed to wear T-shirts bearing the same words before the game after being approached by the Spirit at a special meeting held with them at the Liverpool FC training ground at Melwood yesterday, although this has still to be officially confirmed.

This came after Jamie Carragher invited union members Nicky Allt and Frank Bentley in for an audience with other players such as Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia and Dirk Kuyt to tell them about the campaign to free Shields, currently serving 10 years for the serious assault he claims he did not commit on Martin Georgiev in the Black Sea resort of Golden Sands.

"The players were brilliant, listening to everything we had to say promising to wear the shirts and get all the other Liverpool players at the game to wear them as well," said local writer Mr Allt, a founder member of the union.

The announcements came today as Mrs Shields travelled to London with a group of other wives to meet Vauxhall MP Louise Ellman.

They were later due to present a petition at 10 Downing Street to Sarah Brown, the PM's wife calling for the 22-year-old's release by the British prison authorities after being returned to this country by the Bulgarians in November 2006.

She said this was in advance of a judicial review being held on December 4 brought after campaigners legally challenged Justice Minister Jack Straw's claim that he had no jurisdiction to consider either a pardon or an early release, insisting it was still down to the Bulgarian authorities.