FA Cup racial abuse suspect out on bail

Posted Monday, January 09, 2012 by ESPN

MANCHESTER, England -- Liverpool apologized Sunday to the opposing player who was racially abused during an FA Cup match but stressed that such actions "do not represent our fans."

Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi was reduced to tears by insults from fans during Friday's 5-1 loss at Liverpool and had to be comforted by teammates and opposing players toward the end of the third-round match.

Merseyside police arrested a 20-year-old man from Aintree on Saturday on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense and released him Sunday pending further inquiries. Adeyemi has spoken to police, according to the players' union.

"Whatever the outcome of what is now a police investigation, all of us are deeply sorry for what happened on Friday night and our players and our club pass on our sincere regrets to Tom Adeyemi for the upset and distress he suffered as a result of the matter at hand," Liverpool said in a statement.

"Our supporters are renowned throughout the world for their outstanding commitment, passion and fairness. They are drawn from nationalities across the globe with widely diverse backgrounds and heritages."

The racial taunting comes after Liverpool striker Luis Suarez started serving an eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a match in October at Anfield.