Liverpool Under-19s have been praised for making a strong statement after alleged racial abuse in Germany
General view of Anfield from the corner flag ahead of Liverpool versus Wolves in the Premier League in April 2024.(Image credit: Getty Images)
Liverpool Under-19s have been praised for making a strong statement against racism following an incident in Germany on Saturday.
The young Reds stars walked off during a match against Eintracht Frankfurt after one of the German side's players was alleged to have used a racial insult.
Liverpool and Eintracht were playing in a tournament in the city of Schwabisch Hall in Germany when one of the Reds' players reportedly heard a racial slur from one of his opponents.
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After the incident, which was reported by German paper BILD, Liverpool's players walked off the pitch.
The match was abandoned with the scores at 1-1 and the German side were awarded a 3-0 win.
Liverpool's players have been praised online for their reaction, but Eintracht have claimed that it was all a misunderstanding, and that the word used was 'digga' (which means "bro" or "dude" in German youth slang).
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Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung insists his club's player was misheard by Liverpool's Under-19 stars. (Image credit: Getty Images)
Eintracht sporting director Timmo Hardung insisted that his club's player had been misheard and told BILD: "We can rule out racism."
By way of explanation, he added: "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.
"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."
Ben Hayward is the Weekend Editor of FourFourTwo. A European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.
