Liverpool have issued a statement after seeing their U18 side walk off the pitch twice due to alleged racist abuse at a tournament in Germany.
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- Liverpool U18 player allegedly racially abused
- Team playing pre-season tournament in Germany
- Walked off pitch in successive games
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Liverpool have requested an investigation be undertaken after their U18 team left the field twice in protest at alleged racist abuse directed at one of their players during the Bundesliga Cup competition, a pre-season youth event held in the German city of Schwabisch Hall.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
As per – in their opening match against Hoffenheim on Friday, a Liverpool player claimed to have been the recipient of a racist remark from an opponent, prompting the Reds to leave the pitch in protest. The same Liverpool starlet then reported similar degradation during his side's next game against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, with the squad once again taking the decision to abandon the contest.
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WHAT LIVERPOOL SAID
In a statement made following the two incidents, Liverpool said: "Liverpool FC can confirm that a member of our under-18s team reported he was racially abused by an opponent while playing in the Bundesliga Cup youth tournament at Schwabisch Hall in Germany on Friday. The player immediately alerted the match official, his team-mates, and our coaching staff. Consequently, LFC’s management team decided to stop the game and leave the pitch together. In a further incident, the same player was the target of abuse during a fixture in the tournament today. Again, the player alerted his team-mates and coaching staff and our management team opted to leave the pitch once more.
"We are proud of our player for his prompt actions in reporting the incident and the maturity of his response. He and any of his team-mates affected are being supported by the Academy safeguarding team. The club calls upon our opponents and the tournament organisers to conduct an urgent and thorough investigation into the incident."
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WHAT NEXT?
Eintracht sporting director Timmo Hardung has also spoken out, telling German outlet : "We can rule out racism, it is a linguistic issue and we therefore hope that we have also cleared up the misunderstanding with the players concerned and those responsible at Liverpool FC."
According to , Hoffenheim have given a similar explanation for the incident that took place on Friday.
Liverpool's U18s are scheduled to take to the pitch again for the final day of the Bundesliga Cup on Sunday.
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