Following a brawl at full time during Wednesday’s Merseyside derby, which concluded in a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, Liverpool and Everton have denounced the racial taunts directed at home player Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Before Liverpool substitute Curtis Jones reacted angrily to Doucoure celebrating in front of the visiting supporters, Everton captain James Tarkowski equalised in the seventh minute of extra time to start raucous celebrations.

After the final whistle, referee Michael Oliver sent red cards to Doucoure and Jones and to Liverpool manager Arne Slot.

“Such abuse is reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated,” the two Premier League clubs said in a joint statement.

“Together, the two clubs will work with Merseyside Police, who are conducting an investigation with the aim of identifying the individuals responsible.”

After the final Merseyside derby at the legendary stadium before Everton moved to a new arena at Bramley-Moore Dock, Doucoure shared a photo of himself honouring and praising the Goodison Park supporters.

Nonetheless, the message contained a number of racial remarks.

“We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report and highlight it to the social media platforms on which it appears,” the clubs added.

“We must all, including the social media companies, take a zero-tolerance stance. Platforms need to take accountability and action to ban such abusers.”