In response to two events involving their under-18 squad, Liverpool released a statement. Alleged racism has tarnished its Bundesliga Cup participation.
Regarding reported racist incidents that occurred during an under-18s preseason tournament, Liverpool has provided clarity. Twice, the young Reds have left the field after an opponent’s remarks.
The Liverpool U18s are the only non-German team competing in the Bundesliga Cup, which is a rare move. According to Jack Lusby, even though these walk-offs had soured the competition, it completed its last match today.
According to a story from The Athletic, the players got into an argument about what they said in each of the two incidences. In the first instance, the Bundesliga team claims that the player in question said “digga,” which is German slang that roughly translates to “bro,” during the match versus Hoffenheim.
The second problem happened against Frankfurt, in a game that was eventually abandoned after the walk-off with the score tied at one. The Academy staff are supporting the same Liverpool player who was involved.
For the first time, Liverpool has officially spoken in on the incidents. “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,” a statement from the club was quoted by the BBC.
“The player informed our coaching staff, his teammates, and the match official right away. The management group of LFC made the decision to end the match and depart from the field as a result.
“The same player was the focus of insults during a tournament match today in another instance. The athlete informed his teammates and the coaching staff once more, and our management team decided to exit the field once more.”
Liverpool went on to say that it is pleased with the player for coming out with the occurrences. It claims he responded in a mature manner.
Timmo Hardung, the sports director of Frankfurt, has discussed the situation with his team’s player and has defended him.
Racism is ruled out. It’s a language problem,” Hardung said to Bild. “We therefore hope that we have also cleared up the misunderstanding with the players concerned and those responsible at Liverpool FC.”
