‘He called me n*****’ : Race row rocks football as Everton ’ s MasonHolgate accuses Roberto Firmino of alleged slur

Everton defender Mason Holgate has accused Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino of calling him a n***** during Friday night’ s explosive Mersey derby. Holgate’ s claims are being investigated by the FA after the England Under-21 international voiced his disgust to referee Bobby Madley. investigation has revealed that Holgate complained to referee Bobby Madley and team-mates that Firmino had called him the N-word . But , while the six clips of the incident we used showed that the Brazilian had uttered a curse in his native Portuguese , according to thelip reader, no evidence of racial abuse was found. Lip reader Tim Reedy said: “Firmino, in retaliation to the push, confronts Holgate, shouting some words at him,to which Holgate does not react. “Holgate does not compute because Firmino is speaking in Portugese. My findings arethat Firmino did not use racistlanguage “Instead, he says the words , ‘Es maluco , filho da puta?’, which translates as ‘Are you crazy, you son of a b*** h ?’. Then Holgate, upon speakingto the referee , thinks that racist language was used and tells the referee , ‘ He called me a n**** r. ’“It also appears the referee has no idea what Firmino said. When pushed away by a team-mate, Holgate reiterates that he was called a n*****. ” Liverpool and Everton have promised to co -operate fully with the FA investigation, butboth clubs are refusing to comment until the outcome of the investigation is known. And Firmino is facing a huge ban and fine if he is found to have used racist language .