Liverpool FC had requested an urgent and thorough investigation after their U18s team walked off the pitch during two games when a player alleged he was abused in Germany.
Liverpool U18s Racist Abuse at Bundesliga Cup Youth Tournament
Earlier on Friday, Liverpool FC walked off during the opening match of the Bundesliga Cup Youth tournament against Hoffenheim when a player said he was targeted using racist words.
Following the match, they once again left the field to protest after the same player reported racist abuse during a game against Frankfurt which left no choice but to abandon the match.
“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,” said a club statement.
“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.”
The Club has backed and said they were ‘Proud’ of the players on their decision to leave the ground on both occasions which showed the maturity of the players.
Responding to the allegations, Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung said that the incident was a misunderstanding after speaking with the accused player from his club.
“We can rule out racism. It is a linguistic issue,” told Hardung on local media. “We therefore hope that we have also cleared up the misunderstanding with the players concerned and those responsible at Liverpool FC.”
Hardung said racism “has no place here” and they took “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,” concluded Timmo Hardung.
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