Merseyside derby to reinforce there is No Room For Racism
Today’s Merseyside derby at Anfield is dedicated to the Premier League’s No Room For Racism initiative.
All top-flight games between October 7 and 23 are seeing the league and its clubs reiterate the call for supporters to challenge and report discrimination, wherever they see it.
Players are also taking the knee before kick-off at all 20 fixtures to show their unity against all forms of discrimination, including when Liverpool host Everton this afternoon.
The club is committed to making LFC welcoming to all through its Red Together programme, which strives to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded into everything it does, as well as driving forward positive change.
This comes as the Premier League, EFL and the FA recently joined with other football bodies in a unified approach in the fight against discrimination, sending a clear message that racism will not be tolerated at any level of the game.
Fans can now report online discriminatory abuse they see targeted at Premier League players, managers, coaches, match officials and their families directly here. Each report will be investigated by the league’s specialist team.
Through its online abuse reporting system, which launched in 2020, the Premier League provides support for players and others within football who suffer online hate. The league’s dedicated investigation team tracks abuse and reports it to social media companies for removal. The team also works to identify perpetrators around the world, with legal action taken where possible. In the past three seasons, the Premier League has investigated more than 1,000 cases.
Discriminatory abuse is illegal, causes hurt to those targeted and damages football. The Premier League and clubs are committed to working with the authorities to bring offenders to justice and have introduced tougher sanctions. Those identified and found guilty of discrimination will face punishment, including automatic stadium bans and legal prosecution. This can affect education and employment opportunities and could lead to custodial sentences.
Along with the other English football authorities, the league has lobbied the UK government in the development of the Online Safety Bill, which was passed recently, and will continue to work proactively with the government, regulators and social media companies to ensure combatting discriminatory abuse remains a priority.
Fans who experience or witness discrimination while at a Premier League match should contact the nearest steward or police officer, or report it by using clubs’ confidential text services, which can be found here.
Reds supporters can also use the club’s own dedicated online reporting form here to report any incidents of discrimination.
In May 2023, LFC provided the option for fans to add the No Room For Racism patch to their own replica shirt – more details are available here.
Find out more about LFC’s Red Together programme here.
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.