FA Cup - Police probe Anfield 'monkey gesture'
Sat, 28 Jan 18:11:00 2012
Merseyside Police are reviewing TV footage that appears to show a man making a racist gesture during Liverpool's FA Cup fourth round match against Manchester United.
The man, pictured in a still from ITV's coverage of the match at Anfield, was apparently mimicking a monkey.
Match Commander Ch Supt Jon Ward said: "This matter is now under investigation by specialist hate crime detectives and we are working with Liverpool Football Club to identify the man in question."
The match, which Liverpool won 2-1, was played against a backdrop of tension between the two clubs following the Luis Suarez case.
Suarez was suspended for eight matches after an independent FA commission found him guilty of racially abusing Evra during a Premier League match at Anfield last October.
Liverpool criticised Evra heavily for his involvement in the incident.
Saturday's match passed off largely peacefully, although Evra was booed throughout.
Ch Supt Ward added: "We take all forms of offensive behaviour seriously, and we will always thoroughly investigate such claims.
"We cannot allow this type of behaviour to affect the enjoyment of genuine fans.
"We will continue with our efforts to deal with the small number of individuals who commit offences at football matches, in particular, with the continued use of football banning orders."
Liverpool apologised after their FA Cup third round match against Oldham Athletic, whose player Tom Adeyemi was reduced to tears by alleged racist abuse, over which a 20-year-old was arrested.
Eurosport
