Merseyside Derby Marred by Late Drama and Racist Abuse

The Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton concluded in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Goodison Park on Wednesday. The match saw Everton captain James Tarkowski equalize in the seventh minute of added time, stirring emotions among players and fans alike. Curtis Jones of Liverpool reacted strongly to Abdoulaye Doucouré’s celebration in front of the visiting fans, leading to both players receiving red cards from referee Michael Oliver.

In addition to the players, Liverpool manager Arne Slot was also shown a red card by Oliver during the tense encounter. Despite the thrilling on-field action, the aftermath of the match took an ugly turn as Abdoulaye Doucouré received racist abuse online. In a defiant response, Doucouré posted an image of himself celebrating with the Goodison Park faithful, marking the last Merseyside derby at the historic venue before Everton's move to Bramley-Moore Dock.

Liverpool and Everton jointly denounced the racist abuse directed at Doucouré. In a powerful statement, the clubs expressed their condemnation of such behavior and highlighted the need for collective action against racism.

"Such abuse is reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated," – Liverpool and Everton (joint statement)

The clubs further urged individuals to report online abuse and emphasized the responsibility of social media platforms in curbing such incidents.

"We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report and highlight it to the social media platforms on which it appears," – Liverpool and Everton (joint statement)

The statement called for a zero-tolerance approach to racist abuse, appealing to social media companies to take accountability and enforce strict measures against offenders.

"We must all, including the social media companies, take a zero-tolerance stance. Platforms need to take accountability and action to ban such abusers." – Liverpool and Everton (joint statement)

Reuters has reached out to Meta, the parent company of Instagram, for a comment on the issue, underscoring the ongoing concerns about how social media platforms handle abusive content.