Henderson investigation gets more complicated, Liverpool concerned

FA to look into whether Reds captain had racist attitude towards Gabriel

15/10/2022, 06:33 AM +00:00

The Football Association (FA) launched an investigation earlier this week into allegations that Brazilian Gabriel Magalhães made about England's Jordan Henderson over the midfielder's alleged "off-color" comments about the defender on the pitch at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, when the London club beat Liverpool 3-2.

The FA says it is in talks with the match officials, led by central referee Michael Oliver, and will review the details of what was said on the pitch through a lip reader, to decipher the action in which Gabriel is offended and reproaches the authority for what happened. Michael Oliver tried to reconcile the fact and went to the dugouts to talk to Arteta and Klopp.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, by the way, was questioned about this delicate issue at a press conference ahead of his club's UEFA Europa League clash with Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt. The Spaniard was blunt, refusing to get involved with the FA in the investigation. "This is something I don't want to touch, as it is in the hands of the FA and I am not going to get involved in that," he said.

Arteta closed the case after a reporter questioned him on whether he supported his players' version of the sensitive issue, to which he replied: "Yes, completely. My backing is one hundred percent with the boys. I want this to be resolved in the best way, I believe in them and in Gabriel," said the former player and now Gunners coach.

Arteta refuses to take part in investigation

The final ruling on this case could be finalised in the coming weeks, due to the tight schedule that English clubs will be subjected to in the coming days due to the proximity of the 22nd FIFA World Cup, and even the players Gabriel Magalhães and Jordan Henderson would be interviewed virtually to shorten times and speed up the FA's investigation.