Liverpool have demanded an “urgent investigation” after their under-18 team were sent off the pitch following alleged racist abuse during two youth matches in Germany.

The Reds’ matches in the Bundesliga Cup youth tournament against Hoffenheim on Friday and Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday were called off due to alleged racism against the same player.

A statement from the club said: “Liverpool can confirm that a member of our under-18s team has reported being racially abused by an opponent during play in the Bundesliga Cup youth tournament at Schwabisch Hall in Germany on Friday.

“The player immediately alerted the match director, his teammates and our coaching staff. The LFC management team then decided to abandon the match and leave the field together.

“In another incident, the same player was the target of abuse during a match in the tournament (on Saturday). Again, the player alerted his teammates and the coaching staff and our management team decided to leave the field once again.”

Liverpool supported their players’ decisions to leave the field on both occasions and called for an investigation into the incidents.

“We are proud of our player for his quick actions in reporting the incident and the maturity of his response. He and his affected teammates are being supported by the academy team who are protecting them.

“The club calls on our opponents and the tournament organisers to conduct an urgent and thorough investigation into the incident,” the club said.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Eintracht sporting director Timmo Hardung said the club took the accusation “seriously” but stressed it was a “linguistic issue” regarding a term widely used in Germany.

Hardung said: “Our entire youth academy is like Eintracht Frankfurt: multicultural and we have clear values ​​that we live by and demand again and again.

“Racism has no place here, but we still take such an accusation seriously.

“We can rule out racism, it is a linguistic issue and therefore hope to have resolved the misunderstanding between the players involved and Liverpool officials.”

The International Football Federation said on Wednesday it was launching an investigation into racist chants by Argentine players after they won the Copa America.

“FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being investigated. FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone, including players, fans and officials,” a spokesman for the world football governing body said.

AFP