Liverpool FC launches new racism probe as fan is accused of making 'monkey' gesture

A fan has been accused of making racist gestures during Liverpool's FA Cup victory over Manchester United.

Police are now reviewing footage of the game, which was shown on ITV, and Liverpool has launched its own inquiry after an image of the alleged incident was circulated on the internet.

Police stressed it was an isolated incident and said the crowd had been generally well behaved.

Accusation: Merseyside police are looking at TV footage of the FA Cup clash at Anfield

A club statement said: ‘Following today’s game we were made aware of an image being circulated of an incident at this afternoon’s FA Cup fourth-round tie.

‘We are working closely with Merseyside Police to establish the facts of what occurred and identify the individual concerned.

‘We would urge any of our supporters with any information to contact the club or the police.’

It is the third incident of this kind in a few months at Anfield, which began with United defender Patrice Evra accusing Luis Suarez of racial abuse, for which the Uruguayan was banned for eight matches following an independent disciplinary inquiry.

Party time: Liverpool celebrate Kuyt's winner against Manchester United

Oldham player Tom Adeyemi was also reduced to tears over what he believed was racial abuse during the third-round tie at Anfield earlier this month.

Liverpool are expected to hand a lifetime ban if Saturday's culprit is identified.

Match Commander Chief Supt Jon Ward said: ‘This matter is now under investigation by specialist hate-crime detectives and we are working with Liverpool Football Club to identify the man in question.’

Officers have released a picture of a man in connection with the incident.

Mr Ward, who said officers had been monitoring social networking sites such as Twitter, added: ‘We take all forms of offensive behaviour seriously and we will always thoroughly investigate such claims.

Taunts: Patrice Evra was jeered every time he touched the ball at Anfield

‘We cannot allow this type of behaviour to affect the enjoyment of genuine fans. We will continue with our efforts to deal with the small number of individuals who commit offences at football matches, in particular, with the continued use of football banning orders.’

Police said 17 people were ejected from the ground during the match, adding that two people were arrested for ‘low-level incidents’.

John Terry is due in court for the alleged racism

Meanwhile Chelsea and QPR footballers were banned from exchanging pre-match handshakes yesterday in an attempt to stop the race row between between players John Terry and Anton Ferdinand boiling over.

The last-minute decision by the Football Association came just days before England and Chelsea captain Terry is due to appear in court accused of racist behaviour.

The match between QPR and Chelsea was the first since QPR’s Ferdinand was allegedly the victim of a racist slur by Terry during a Barclays Premier League game last October.

That incident will be the subject of the court case beginning on Wednesday, when Terry is expected to plead not guilty.

Fears grew over yesterday’s match when, 24 hours earlier, Ferdinand was reportedly sent  a bullet in the post.

It is believed he spent up to £30,000 on personal security ahead of the game. The FA last night said they agreed to a request by both clubs to ban handshakes in an attempt to defuse tensions. Scotland Yard said no arrests were made.