Appeal following reports of racial abuse towards Everton player on social media

We can confirm we are aware of reports of racial abuse towards an Everton player posted on social media yesterday, Wednesday 12 February.

Chief Superintendent Claire Doyle said: “We are investigating this and take these reports of hate crime extremely seriously. If you have any information in relation please let us know because it could help our ongoing enquiries.

“We have successfully prosecuted so-called fans for racist abuse previously and have issued football banning orders, with offenders ending up with a criminal record for their behaviour.

“Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime in any form and is working to identify and bring to justice anyone found responsible for committing it.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
 
If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals. A list of locations can be viewed here: merseyside-third-party-hate-crime-reporting-centres.pdf