Roberto Firmino will not face any disciplinary action after being cleared of an allegation of racially abusing Everton’s Mason Holgate.
The accusation stemmed from an FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Everton on 5 January but, having consulted 12 players, members of both teams’ staff, the referee and the fourth official, the FA found that none of them were able to confirm that Firmino had used the term which Holgate said he’d heard.
The Liverpool forward claimed he’d insulted Holgate in Portuguese but denied the use of any discriminatory language.
An FA statement, released on Wednesday evening, reads as follows:
“Having considered all of the available evidence, we consider it is not sufficient to raise a charge against Firmino.
“However, we are completely satisfied that the allegation was made in absolute good faith by Holgate and that there is no suggestion of this being an intentionally false or malicious allegation.
“We continue to take all allegations of discrimination extremely seriously and would encourage all participants who believe that they have been the subject of or witness to discriminatory abuse to report this through the appropriate channels. Holgate and Everton followed the proper process by reporting the matter to the match officials at the time and subsequently to The FA.”
Firmino and Holgate were involved in an fiery confrontation when the Everton defender pushed the Brazilian off the pitch before half-time of the game, causing Firmino to fall over an advertising hoarding and into the crowd.
Words were then exchanged but, following the FA investigation into the incident, Firmino was found innocent of using any racially discriminatory language.
A Liverpool statement reads:
“We thank Roberto for the manner in which he has conducted himself during this difficult process, acknowledging that being subjected to such a serious allegation for this length of time has been hurtful to him and his family.
“Both the club and player were in full agreement from the beginning that if an investigation was required it should be a thorough and robust one.
“Roberto has co-operated fully with the process and shown a willingness to engage and assist throughout, with the only objective being to discover the truth of what happened.
“We are satisfied that the outcome of the process has exonerated the player of using any racist or discriminatory language.”
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