Liverpool’s Under-18 team walked off the pitch twice in two days following allegations of racist abuse against one of its players at a youth tournament in Germany.
After an incident on Friday, allegedly against Hoffenheim, Liverpool management made the decision to avoid the attack and the team left the field altogether and reported the incident without delay.
Liverpool claim that the same player was the subject of a new incident on Saturday against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Once again, the training staff and the control team chose to leave the box together after being informed of the incident without delay.
Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung said in an interview with BILD: “Our entire NLZ is like Eintracht Frankfurt, multicultural and we have transparent values that we constantly protect and demand. Racism has no position here, but we take such values seriously. “
Hardung claims that the Frankfurt player used a German term to refer to “friend” or “friend. “
And he added: “We can rule out racism, it is a linguistic factor, so we hope to have also clarified the false impression that the affected players and the management of Liverpool FC had. “
Hoffenheim issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying it took “this allegation very seriously, but firmly rejects its content. “
They added: “Differences of opinion may arise here and there, but there is no racism among TSG players.
“The accused player and his teammates told us that the accusation had not been made. The analysis of our video also revealed nothing.
“However, we are investigating the incident with our team of psychologists and the child cover officer. “
Liverpool have asked tournament organizers to launch an investigation. Sky Sports News understands that the tournament is subject to UEFA regulations.
Sky Sports News has contacted Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, the organizers and UEFA for comment.
“Liverpool can verify that a member of our Under-18 squad reported being subjected to racist abuse by an opponent while playing in the Bundesliga Cup youth tournament at Schwabisch Hall in Germany on Friday.
“The player immediately alerted the fit referee, his teammates and our training team. Given this, Liverpool controlled the team to avoid a collision and they left the field together.
“In another incident, the same player was subjected to abuse during today’s tournament. Once again, the player alerted his teammates and coaching staff and our control team chose to leave the area once again.
“We are proud of our for their speed in reporting the incident and the maturity of their response.
He and all his teammates involved are supported by the academy’s support team.
“The club calls on our parties to the conflict and the tournament organisers to carry out an urgent and thorough investigation into the incident. “