Liverpool have condemned homophobic chants directed at Billy Gilmour during the Reds’ 3-0 victory over Norwich on Saturday.
Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all got on the scoresheet as Liverpool kicked off the new Premier League season with a comfortable victory at Carrow Road.
The result extends Liverpool’s unbeaten run over Norwich to 15 games, dating back to the 1993/94 season.
However, Gilmour – who is on loan from Chelsea – was subjected to homophobic chants by Liverpool supporters during the fixture.
The 18-year-old was playing his first game in a Norwich shirt, having signed for the club on a temporary agreement back in June.
Shortly after the final whistle, Liverpool LGBT+ group Kop Outs! tweeted: “Great result today marred by homophobic chanting by some of our fans targeting Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour.
“If you can’t support without resorting to bigoted nonsense, you don’t understand YNWA [You’ll Never Walk Alone].”
Liverpool then followed up the tweet by stating: “The chant is offensive and inappropriate – a message we have repeatedly communicated alongside Kop Outs.
“We urge supporters to remember the inclusive values of the club and to refrain from using it in the future.”
Elsewhere, there were also allegations of racist comments made towards Derby County winger Kamil Jozwiak, as well as a homophobic slur towards a Peterborough United player, from a minority of Derby away fans during their Championship clash with Peterborough.
Kick It Out statement in full
Kick It Out released a statement earlier this afternoon, which read: “We are disappointed that only two weeks into the football season, we have already seen numerous incidents of discrimination at stadiums up and down the country.
“The use of the term ‘rent boy’ in chants by a portion of Liverpool fans at Carrow Road was unquestionably homophobic and has no place in our game.
“We have also had reports of incidents at other games and are awaiting further clarification.
“As always, we thank those who reported these incidents to us, and urge fans to do the same if they witness discrimination of any kind in football in the future.
“We will continue to liaise with all relevant clubs and hold those accountable those responsible.”
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