Rangers fans deface murals of three Liverpool heroes

A number of murals in Liverpool were defaced before the Reds kicked off against Rangers in their Champions League group stage encounter on Tuesday night. The fixture represented the first competitive meeting between the two clubs and passions were expected to run high, with a large away following having travelled to the city from Glasgow to attend the match at Anfield.

There were some unsavoury scenes prior to kick-off, though, as it emerged that the murals of Jurgen Klopp, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson had been vandalised with blue and white paint. Merseyside Police quickly issued a statement to confirm they will be investigating the ‘unsavoury graffiti’ before asking people who may have seen the murals being defaced to come forward.

“We can confirm we are investigating offensive graffiti in Anfield and three murals that were damaged in the area,” said a police spokesperson.

“The report of the offensive graffiti was received at around 9am today, Tuesday 4 October on Randolph Street prior to the Liverpool v Rangers FC game this evening.

JUST IN: Man Utd decide stance on Ronaldo exit due to Rashford and Martial

“Merseyside Police will not tolerate any form of offensive graffiti or vandalism and is working to identify and bring to justice anyone found responsible for committing these crimes. Officers are liaising with Liverpool Football club to obtain CCTV footage and identify any possible suspects.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is urged to contact police. If you have any information please contact the Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre with log 155.

“You can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111, or their online form at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.“

DON’T MISS

The three murals were created by MurWalls, who have been forced to remove graffiti from the works on a handful of previous occasions. They were last defaced before the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton at the beginning of September, with the two clubs releasing a joint statement to address the matter at the time after it was reported that offensive language had been scrawled on the murals around the city.

“Both Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs jointly condemn the defacing of buildings and murals ahead of the Merseyside derby,” the statement read.

“Racist and offensive graffiti has been daubed across multiple sites in north Liverpool this morning around Anfield and Goodison. Both clubs will work together with Merseyside Police and will support the investigation in finding those responsible. Hate has no place in football.”

WIN A FREE ENGLAND SHIRT FOR THE WORLD CUP!