Spartak Moscow charges over Liverpool's Rhian Brewster dropped by UEFA
Liverpool accept UEFA's findings and praise Brewster's "courage"
Wednesday 7 March 2018 18:10, UK
UEFA has dropped charges against Spartak Moscow over allegations of racist abuse towards Liverpool's Rhian Brewster due to lack of evidence.
The 17-year-old had to be dragged away by Liverpool team-mates and staff after being reportedly upset by what was said to him by one of the Russian team's defenders.
Leonid Mironov denied using racist language but did admit swearing at the Liverpool forward during his side's 2-0 defeat in a UEFA Youth League match.
European football's control, ethics and disciplinary body held interviews with five players from each side and the match officials but failed to find any evidence to back the claim.
UEFA said in a statement they take these allegations "very seriously" and acknowledged Brewster's accusations were made in "good faith".
Live Premier League
The statement added: "The inspector took statements from five players from both teams, as well as from two match officials, who were in the vicinity of the alleged incident. None of these heard any discriminatory words.
"Mironov was also interviewed by the inspector and stated that he indeed swore at Rhian Brewster, but he unreservedly denied using any discriminatory language.
"After concluding his investigation, the inspector found no evidence to corroborate the allegations, which he believed were made in complete good faith by Brewster.
"Therefore, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, following the recommendation of the inspector, established that there was no evidence that would legally support sanctioning the FC Spartak Moskva youth player Mironov and thus decided to close the disciplinary proceedings."
Mironov faced a ban of "at least 10 matches or a specified period of time" according to UEFA regulations.
Liverpool said they accepted UEFA's findings as the conclusion to the matter, but praised the "courage" shown by Brewster during the process.
"The club is very proud of the maturity, dignity and leadership Rhian has displayed in bringing focus to this issue and he will continue to receive our full support," a club spokesperson said.
"In keeping with Rhian's stance, the club encourages football's governing bodies to facilitate the most robust processes possible to identify and tackle discrimination in the game at all ages."
"The organisation is deeply disappointed with the findings of the independent investigation, with this outcome likely to give further encouragement to those who wish to be abusive in the sport.
Kick It Out, praised Liverpool for the ongoing support they have offered Brewster but described the lack of action taken against team's consistently the subject of allegations of racism as "intolerable".
A statement from the anti-discrimination campaign read: "Kick It Out believes there are issues with clubs, such as Spartak Moscow, who have been involved in several alleged racist incidents in recent years, receiving little or no discouragement by national and international football authorities in response to allegations of racism and discrimination.
"This underlying issue is compounded with any action taken in relation to racist or discriminatory incidents rarely being appropriate. This current situation is intolerable.
"Kick It Out has offered its assistance to Rhian and Liverpool during this investigation and the organisation welcomes the club's support of their young player through this and other incidents where Rhian has been targeted."
