Met Police have appealed to West Ham fans to come forward if they know the identity of a member of the crowd who was captured on film abusing Liverpool striker Mo Salah.
An unknown supporter was recorded shouting vile abuse towards the Egyptian international as he prepared to take a corner during Monday night's 1-1 draw in Stratford.The video - which may be seen below (beware of extremely offensive content) - was posted on social media by London-based Liverpool supporter Sadat Yazdani.
The twitter user, who refers to himself as "a life long LFC fan" admitted to being in the home end of the 60,000-capacity arena during the match, despite stadium rules prohibiting away supporters in areas designated for home fans only.
Following the video's publication, the Met have reached out to West Ham supporters as they attempt to identify the individual responsible.
I went to watch West Ham vs Liverpool and I was disgusted by what I was hearing. People like this deserve no place in our society let alone football matches. #kickracismout @22mosala @FA pic.twitter.com/M4dBsMrCy8
— Sádat Yazdani (@Sadat_Yazdani) February 6, 2019
"As you will have all seen today, we are currently looking into some allegations of racial/religious hatred towards a Liverpool player from Monday night," read a post on the Met's West Ham twitter account.
"The vast majority of West Ham fans are law abiding fans who attend games to enjoy the football with family and friends.
"The individuals involved in these incidents have shown that they don't belong at a football [match]. All they have done is tarnished the reputation of the club and its supporters. If you know who this individual is then please get in touch."
Meanwhile Yazdani - who later wrote to Salah on twitter, referring to the striker as "my idol" - also accused stewards at the Olympic Stadium of failing to act upon the abuse - which he claims was heard by several of them.
"The stewards could hear every single word he was saying," he tole the Liverpool Echo. "They were in front of us and they didn't do anything. I could see about 30 stewards; one of them was just smirking.
"I decided just to film it and hope a police investigation would follow. West Ham have contacted me and they're investigating it."
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