Police investigate incident of racist abuse toward Premier League footballers’ families
Rico Henry scored Brentford's winning goal against Everton on April 16. British police are investigating the alleged racist abuse of two English Premier League footballers' families during Brentford's match against Everton in Liverpool on Sunday.
By Ben Church, CNN
British police are investigating the alleged racist abuse of two English Premier League footballers’ families during Brentford’s match against Everton in Liverpool, Sunday.
Brentford players Ivan Toney and Rico Henry tweeted the allegations against the unidentified supporters after the match at Goodison Park.
“I never usually speak out on things that don’t physically harm me or my family but to see my mom upset after being racially abused by a few Everton fans brought fire to my stomach,” Henry wrote.
“I will do anything for them & whatever it takes to get the small minority punished! This is not acceptable & must be investigated immediately.”
Similarly, Toney wrote: “And for the man that racially abused my family Il [sic] do everything I can to get you the punishment you deserve.”
Both Everton and Brentford released statements on Twitter condemning the incident.
“There is no place in football — or society — for racism,” Everton wrote.
“We are assisting Merseyside Police to ensure the individual is identified and dealt with appropriately.”
‘Absolutely no place for hate’
Meanwhile, Brentford said it was aware of the incident and had made reports to both Everton and the police.
“Brentford FC condemns all forms of discrimination and racist abuse in the strongest possible terms,” it wrote.
“We will offer our support to Rico’s and Ivan’s families and will fully co-operate with the investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings.”
Merseyside Police said it was investigating the reports and would work with Everton to find those “responsible and bring them to justice.”
“No matter what football team you support, there is absolutely no place for hate anywhere in Merseyside under any circumstances,” Detective Inspector Catherine Cox said in a statement.
Brentford won the match 3-2 in a dramatic encounter, with Henry’ second-half header sealing the win as Everton finished the game with nine men.
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