Jurgen Klopp condemns 'disgusting' racist abuse of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has condemned the abuse of Mohamed Salah
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David Lynch12 April 2019

Jurgen Klopp has called for the Chelsea fans behind the ‘disgusting’ racial abuse of Mohamed Salah to be banned from attending football matches for life.

A video showing Blues supporters singing an Islamophobic chant about the Liverpool forward ahead of their Europa League fixture in Prague was circulated widely on social media on Thursday.

Both clubs vowed to do all they can to identify the perpetrators and ensure justice is delivered in statements released after the footage had emerged.

And Klopp backed that stance in his press conference to preview Sunday’s meeting between the two teams at Anfield.

He said: “It’s disgusting, another example of something which absolutely should not happen. We should not see it as a Chelsea thing or a Liverpool thing. It’s another sign that something is going wrong a little bit out there at the moment.

“It’s still only a few people doing it, but the stronger the reaction is from all of us, the more it will help to avoid things like this in the future.

"These guys now are football fans, and if you do something like that, you should not be able to enter a stadium again, in my point of view, in your life.

“It’s just a complete misunderstanding of how life should be. All kinds of racism are just that some people think they are worth more, more valuable than others. That’s the biggest misunderstanding in the world out there.

“As a part of the football community, I can say that these people should not be involved. Football is the best example for how different people, different races can work together brilliantly.

"Go in each dressing room, and you find them all there sitting there together, next to each other and nobody cares about where he’s coming from, who his parents were. It’s never an issue.

“That’s what I can say. They should not be allowed to be part of the football community again. They did it now, but hopefully we can avoid someone doing something like this again.

"Football is very public and we have a strong voice, we have to use that strong voice and show that we all think the same. Things like this are not allowed to happen again.”

The German was later asked how Salah reacted to the footage, but was reluctant to give more airtime to those involved.

He added: “It’s nothing to say in public. We don’t give these people more than they deserve. I said what I had to say, for me that’s it.

“There were official statements from Chelsea, Liverpool, other organisations. A strong reaction is needed.”

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