Diouf faces racism police probe

Force will examine claims Blackburn striker racially abused Everton ball boy

(Getty)

Merseyside Police have pledged to investigate race allegations against El Hadji Diouf with rigour, while Everton have called on the Blackburn striker to apologise and retract his claim that he was subjected to racial abuse during Sunday's Premier League match at Goodison Park.

Diouf is being investigated by Merseyside Police for alleged racial abuse of a 14-year-old ball boy at the match and the force declared it would "not tolerate hate crime in all of its forms and all incidents of racism will be robustly investigated." The force's declaration is at odds with Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce's suggestion on Wednesday that: "We haven't heard from the police and I don't expect to hear anything either."

Officers are no longer investigating Dioff's claims that bananas were thrown at him during the 3-0 defeat at Goodison. Everton's director of communications Ian Ross said the claims should be retracted. He said: "That is a wholly false allegation and I really would like him to retract that allegation and apologise to the supporters and staff of this football club. I don't think there's a worse allegation in modern sport than racism and it works both ways. At the moment, and from my perspective, it looks like Mr Diouf is accusing Everton fans of racist behaviour. The police will tell you that is completely untrue."

The Cheshire police force, meanwhile, are investigating a burglary in which Everton defender Phil Jagielka was threatened with knives by three men who evaded CCTV cameras and electronic gates and burst into his home in Knutsford at 8pm on Wednesday. Jagielka, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained against Manchester City in April, was watching television when three men burst into the mansion. He was forced to hand over jewellery, including a Rolex watch, and the keys to his Range Rover.

Stoke, meanwhile, have apologised to Jason Euell after the Blackpool midfielder claimed he was subjected to racist abuse during Tuesday's Carling Cup game at the Britannia Stadium. Police are investigating the allegations from 32-year-old Euell, which have been supported by the Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway.

A supporter who was detained on the night of the match after being ejected by stewards has been released on bail. Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes pledged the club have it in their power to take firm action, which could mean a ban from the club's stadium – depending on the outcome of the police investigation.

Scholes said: "On behalf of Stoke City Football Club, I would like to apologise to Jason Euell and indeed Blackpool Football Club, for the behaviour of this supporter. We will take a hard line because we do not tolerate racist or abusive language of this type. We must first wait though for the outcome of the police investigation into this incident before imposing our sanctions."