UK Edition
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp commends Rhian Brewster bravery
Rhian Brewster has been commended for his bravery by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp after the teenager publicly condemned Uefa's lack of action against racist allegations.
The England youth international spoke out against European football’s governing body for their inaction following a series of incidents when he and team-mates were targeted over recent months.
Klopp applauded the 17-year-old’s stance, but suggested prevention rather than retrospective punishment for offenders was the correct course for the authorities.
“I can 100 per cent understand the frustration of Rhian if he thinks they did not do enough,” said Klopp.
“The problem in life is you need evidence and in a game like football if nobody hears it or there is no footage it is difficult. What can you do? You ask people around if they heard it. A team-mate will not say ‘yes, he said it’. It does not make too much sense when talking about how can you punish things in the past because it is difficult with the evidence.”
Liverpool are still waiting to discover if Spartak Moscow will be punished for the most recent incident when Brewster alleged he was racially abused in a Uefa Youth Cup tie held at Prenton Park.
“What we need to make sure is it does not happen again,” said Klopp.
“The referees need to be aware and even more focused. It is important we are talking about it in a serious, common sense way. We are all responsible for that. I never had it before. I played with players from different countries and coached players as a manager from all over the world. That can make you think the problem is not there anymore. But Rhian reminded us it is still there and we have to think about it.”