Liverpool Under 19s' match against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany was abandoned following allegations a player was racially abused by an opponent.
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Frankfurt player alleged to use racist termLiverpool U19s walked off pitchGerman side say player was 'misheard'WHAT HAPPENED?
The Liverpool youth team walked off and refused to return after allegations one of their players was racially abused by an Eintracht Frankfurt player. The two sides were facing each other at a tournament in Germany when the incident prompted Liverpool's players to leave the pitch. The score was 1-1 at the time the match came to a halt, with Frankfurt eventually being awarded a 3-0 win.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The incident is another in a string of ugly racial allegations that have marred football over the past week. Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez apologised after sharing a video of Argentina's players singing a racist song about France's players in the wake of their Copa America win, while Wolves are pursuing a complaint following allegations a racist remark was said to striker Hwang Hee-chan by a Como player during a friendly on Monday in Marbella.
WHAT FRANKFURT SAID
Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung said the player was misheard.
"Our entire NLZ is like Eintracht Frankfurt, multicultural and we have clear values that we live by and constantly demand," Hardung told BILD.
"Racism has no place here, but we still take such an accusation seriously. After consultation, our player confirmed that he had used the word 'digga', which is common in youth slang, in the course of a normal game. We have no doubt that this statement is correct."
'Digga' is a slang term that means 'bro' or 'dude'.
Hardung added: "We can rule out racism, it is a linguistic issue and we therefore hope that we have also cleared up the misunderstanding with the players concerned and those responsible at Liverpool FC."
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL & FRANKFURT?
The Daily Mail reached out to Liverpool for comment. The Reds are yet to release a statement on the matter, while Hardung claims the accusations will be taken seriously by Frankfurt.