Everton manager David Moyes said that Abdoulaye Doucoure’s celebrations following the full-time whistle in the Merseyside derby didn’t give rival fans the right to direct racist abuse at the midfielder.
Following the final whistle, Doucoure ran over to the away end, where Liverpool fans were situated, and flailed his arms in celebration before shushing them.
Reds midfielder Curtis Jones saw the reaction from Doucoure and shoved him, sparking a mass brawl between players and staff from either side which saw four red cards shown, three of which were on Liverpool’s side of the skirmish.
Doucoure was shown a second yellow card and Moyes admits he was disappointed in him for his gamesmanship, adding that he feels for Slot whose action said a lot about his passion towards the club.
"He [Doucoure] is fine. I was disappointed he got sent off. The club will look at the situation. It was an emotional night and a game where everybody was involved.
“We were playing against a really good Liverpool team, probably the best in Europe, and we had to do as good a job as we could.
"I feel a bit for Arne Slot too because it is the sort of thing I was always getting involved in when I was a younger manager. It tells me that he cares a lot about his club and is fighting for his players.
"I was disappointed in Doucoure because he played so well in the game and did a great job for the team. He wouldn't have probably done what he did [if he had the chance again].
“But it still doesn't mean that people are allowed to abuse you. If that's the case, it's completely wrong."
Both Liverpool and Everton released a joint statement on Thursday, condemning the horrific abuse that still remains in football.
Clubs condemn racist abuse in joint statement
The statement read: "Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs are aware of – and condemn in the strongest possible terms – racist abuse received by Abdoulaye Doucouré following Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby.
"Such abuse is reprehensible and will not, and should not, be tolerated.
"Together, the two clubs will work with Merseyside police, who are conducting an investigation with the aim of identifying the individuals responsible. We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report and highlight it to the social media platforms on which it appears. We must all, including the social media companies, take a zero-tolerance stance. Platforms need to take accountability and action to ban such abusers. Racism and hate has no place online, in our stadia or in our communities.”
Ndaiye out with MCL injury, Moyes confirms
Despite the jubilation Everton supporters felt at the final whistle, they were dealt a significant blow earlier in the night when Iliman Ndaiye was forced off with an medial cruciate ligament (MCL) injury.
“He had got a medial ligament injury,” Moyes said. “It’s not looking great at the moment. But probably not sure about how long it is going to be. It's certainly going to be a few weeks anyway."
Beto opened the scoring on Wednesday and it’s likely he will lead the line once more against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Portuguese forward has taken his time in finding form, but Moyes has plenty of praise of him.
He said: "The people who have played as a striker will tell you they need some time to settle in.
"They live off their goals as well because they judge on them as well. Beto is doing that at the moment. He has come in and he's got goals.
"He was a difficult opponent for Liverpool and he has started very well for us. I hope he keeps it up."
"We are smiling. We were smiling with a minute to go in the game.
"We took a point from the game but not three. But we are also realistic that we got something from a game that was difficult to get anything at all.
"That made it a little bit more special and it has given us a good feeling."
