Two High-profile Players Said They Had Been Racially Abused at Football Grounds in Recent Days

Two high-profile players yesterday said they had been racially abused at football grounds in recent days, with Blackpool's Jason Euell an apparent victim last night during his team's Carling Cup defeat by Stoke City. The Blackburn forward El Hadji Diouf, meanwhile, said he had been abused during Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Everton, after which he himself was accused of racially abusing a ball-boy.

The Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway, described how Euell was abused by a Stoke supporter during his team's 4-3 defeat. "I have to thank the stewards because they fired him out of the ground as quickly as they could," he said. "I thought those days were gone but maybe I am being naive. I hope he is banned for life."

Stoke confirmed a man was thrown out of the ground after an incident involving Euell, who was an unused substitute, and that police had detained the fan and were investigating.

Diouf said he had been repeatedly abused at Goodison Park. "People threw bananas at me, and the referee told me he would report this to the police," Diouf said. "I have had problems before but never anything like the ones I had on Sunday. I don't want to let this matter rest."

However, Merseyside Police said they received no report from the match referee and that they had discovered no evidence when they first investigated Diouf'scounter-allegations, minutes after the final whistle.

The Senegalese striker also said the ball-boy had provoked their altercation by throwing him the ball "like he'd throw a bone to a dog". "I can understand that they don't like me at Everton but to say that I uttered racist words towards a child is nonsense," he said. "All this is not El Hadji Diouf. I have not done anything."