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The Football Association has launched a racism investigation after the Liverpool goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe allegedly made reference to skin colour in a comment overheard by some staff and teammates.
The alleged incident is understood to have been heard while Liverpool were preparing to take a squad photograph, and the club are believed to have promptly looked into the matter internally.
The player’s representatives were contacted by the Guardian on Wednesday and no response has yet been received. However, Borggräfe is understood to have denied the allegations during the course of the ongoing proceedings.
The club’s investigation was ongoing at the time when Borggräfe – who signed for the English team this summer on a free transfer from SC Freiburg – missed their first competitive match of the season, September’s WSL Merseyside derby at Anfield.
When speaking in relation to that loss to Everton, explaining the German keeper’s absence, the Liverpool head coach, Gareth Taylor, said that was down to an “internal club issue”.
Speaking later in September, when discussing her availability before last Sunday’s away loss against Leicester City, Taylor said of Borggräfe: “She’s back in with us. There’s nothing further to report but she’s back training with the team so she comes into contention for the weekend.”
Borggräfe was then included in the Liverpool squad at the King Power Stadium, as an unused substitute.
A club statement on Friday said: “Liverpool Football Club is aware of an alleged use of discriminatory language by an LFC Women’s player. The club has followed its protocols to the fullest extent and the alleged incident has been reported to the FA, which is conducting an investigation with our full support. We condemn all forms of discrimination; it has no place in football or society. We are unable to comment further while the investigation is ongoing.”
The 25-year-old Borggräfe, who spent more than 10 years on Freiburg’s books after joining their academy, is in her first season in English football but is yet to make her debut for Liverpool.
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The team are one of three in the WSL yet to pick up a point, along with West Ham and the bottom-placed, promoted side London City Lionesses.
Liverpool face Aston Villa away in the WSL on Sunday. It is not clear whether Borggräfe will be available for selection. It is understood she did not train with the team on Thursday but this absence was down to family reasons and unrelated to the investigation.
