Mason Holgate accused Roberto Firmino of calling him a ‘n****r’ during Liverpool‘s clash with Everton in the FA Cup on Friday, according to a report.
The Football Association is investigating the incident which occurred in the first half of Liverpool’s 2-1 win a Anfield after revealing that referee Bobby Madley was ‘made aware of an allegation’ during the game.
Holgate sparked the row after pushing Firmino into the crowd. The Brazilian reacted angrily and ran towards the defender before he was stopped by Madley.
But Holgate became irate after Firmino had spoken and was retrained by his Everton teammates.
According to the Daily Mirror, who used lip-reader Tim Reedy to review the television footage, Firmino insulted Holgate in Portuguese, but there was no evidence of racial abuse by the Brazilian.
‘Holgate does not compute because Firmino is speaking in Portugese,’ said Reedy.
‘My findings are that Firmino did not use racist language.
‘Instead, he says the words, ‘Es maluco, filho da puta?’, which translates as ‘Are you crazy, you son of a b***h?’.
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‘Then Holgate, upon speaking to the referee, thinks that racist language was used and tells the referee, ‘He called me a n****r.’
‘It also appears the referee has no idea what Firmino said. When pushed away by a team-mate, Holgate reiterates that he was called a n****r.’
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