Everton, Liverpool condemn racist abuse directed at Doucoure

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool united on Thursday to condemn “in the strongest possible terms” racist abuse directed at Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure on social media.

The teams said the abuse was received by Doucoure after the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday, which finished 2-2. After the final whistle, Doucoure was involved in a melee containing players, officials and police officers that took place in front of Liverpool’s visiting fans.

“Such abuse is reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated,” Everton and Liverpool said in a joint statement.

“Together, the two clubs will work with Merseyside Police who are conducting an investigation with the aim of identifying the individuals responsible.”

The teams encouraged social media companies to “take a zero-tolerance stance” on racism.

“Platforms need to take accountability and action to ban such abusers,” the teams said.

Doucoure was seen celebrating in front of Liverpool’s fans after Everton scored a last-gasp equalizer through James Tarkowski to draw the final derby to be played at Goodison Park before the home side moves to a new stadium next season.

Curtis Jones took exception to Doucoure’s conduct and grabbed hold of his rival, sparking a free-for-all. After it finally settled down, Doucoure and Jones were both shown second yellow cards by referee Michael Oliver and therefore sent off. Liverpool manager Arne Slot and his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, were also shown red cards.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said immediately after the match that he thought Doucoure “wanted to provoke our fans.”

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