Liverpool and Everton have condemned the racist abuse received by midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré in Wednesday’s Merseyside derby after he was involved in a melee at full-time when the game ended in a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
Everton captain James Tarkowski equalised in the seventh minute of added time to spark wild celebrations before Liverpool substitute Curtis Jones took umbrage at Doucouré celebrating in front of the visiting fans.
Doucouré and Jones were shown red cards by referee Michael Oliver, who also brandished one at Liverpool manager Arne Slot after the final whistle.
“Such abuse is reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated,” the two Premier League clubs said in a joint statement.
“Together, the two clubs will work with Merseyside Police, who are conducting an investigation with the aim of identifying the individuals responsible.”
Doucouré had posted an image of himself celebrating and paying homage to the Goodison Park faithful after what was the last Merseyside derby at the iconic stadium before Everton move to a new arena at Bramley-Moore Dock.
However, there were several comments of a racist nature on the post.
“We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report and highlight it to the social media platforms on which it appears,” the clubs added.
“We must all, including the social media companies, take a zero-tolerance stance. Platforms need to take accountability and action to ban such abusers.”
Reuters has contacted Meta, which owns Instagram, for comment.
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