Liverpool have called for an urgent investigation after saying a member of their under-18s team was the victim of racial abuse in two consecutive matches during a youth tournament in Germany.
Liverpool players and coaches left the pitch in both fixtures, against Hoffenheim on Friday and against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, at the Bundesliga Cup youth tournament after the same player complained to match officials and coaches that he had been abused. Both matches were abandoned.
A club statement said: “Liverpool 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 (on Saturday). 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.”
Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Eintracht sporting director Timmo Hardung said the club took the accusation “seriously” but insisted it had been a “linguistic issue” relating to a term that is commonly used in Germany.
“Our entire youth academy is like Eintracht Frankfurt, multicultural and we have clear values that we live by and demand again and again,” Hardung said. “Racism has no place here, but we still take such an accusation seriously…
“We can rule out racism, it is a linguistic issue and therefore hope to have resolved the misunderstanding among the players and Liverpool officials concerned.”
Hoffenheim have been contacted for comment.
