FA Cup: Ugly Scuffle Turns Uglier As Everton’s Mason Holgate Accuses Liverpool Forward Roberto Firmino Of Racist Abuse During Merseyside Derby

Chris Wright

6th, January 2018

7 Comments

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It would appear that the ugly spat between Mason Holgate and Roberto Firmino during last night’s FA Cup third-round meeting between Everton and Liverpool may be about to get much uglier.

The petulant squabble kicked off when Holgate shoved Firmino over the advertising boards at Anfield, only for the Liverpool forward to respond with an angry barrage of abuse. The two players then had to be restrained as various further unpleasantries were exchanged.

While both players escaped without punishment at the time, Holgate complained to referee Bobby Madley that Firmino also hurled some racist abuse at him in the midst of the furore. Madley then reported the allegation to his fourth official, Jon Moss, who spoke to Holgate again after the match.

All of the above is expected to be included in Madley’s match report, which is to be submitted at some point today. The FA will then have to decide whether or not there is cause to launch an official investigation into the claims.

For what it’s worth, Liverpool have already vowed to cooperate fully should an investigation be forthcoming, with a club spokesman telling the press:

The club and player will fully co-operate with the relevant authorities to ensure the facts are established in a thorough manner if deemed necessary or requested.

While that process is ongoing, we will not be making any further comment.

T-shirts at the ready, boys!

Posted in Everton, FA Cup, Liverpool

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7 Comments

  1. anfield says:

    it’s at anfield

  2. Dave says:

    Yes Holgate should have been booked for the shove but if, and I do emphasise ‘if’ Firmino has been racist towards him then the FA should throw the book at them. When will this classless club be brought to account for its racist players and fans ? We all know about their previous issues and now I understand Holgate has closed his Twitter because of more racist remarks…. Probably printing the innocent T-shirts as I speak. Unbelievable !

    • Moxey says:

      The problem is that a club can’t be held accountable for fans posting racist remarks on Twitter. Every single club has these moronic “fans” who respond directly at people online with disgusting comments. Other than cancelling a season ticket in some cases, there’s not much clubs can do.

      • Beano says:

        There’s something about South American football culture that leads to more than a few players using racist “bants” as an in-game tool. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Firmino did say something in frustration, hoping to get Holgate fired up or sent off.

  3. Si says:

    From the various clips, it looks like Firminho is saying (in Portuguese) that Holgate is crazy and a son of a bitch when he is shouting at him over the shoulder of the referee (which is the point where Holgate loses his temper): “Tu ta louco. Tu ta louco. Filho da puta!”

    Nothing in the clips suggests any racial slur comments, such as “o negro” or “o preto” (which typically are used with the same connotations as the “N” word in English). I could be wrong, but this has overreaction written all over it.

  4. Archer says:

    Although Firmino is a bit whiney, he’s certainly no Suarez (spiteful tw@). He could be guilty, however it doesn’t look that way – purely because of the position of the ref. He was between Firmino and Holgate and so surely would hear any racist comment that Holgate apparently hears.

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