Police probe fan's 'monkey' gesture at Liverpool match

Liverpool are working closely with Merseyside police in an attempt to identify a man who appeared to have made racist gestures during their FA Cup fourth round victory over Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday.

Police have released a picture of a man, which was circulated on social networking sites during Liverpool's 2-1 victory, who seemed to be making 'monkey' gestures.

The match was the first between the teams since Liverpool's Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches by the FA for racially abusing United's France fullback Patrice Evra in a Premier League match at Anfield in October.

Liverpool issued a statement which read: "Following today's game we were made aware of an image being circulated on social media relating to an incident at this afternoon's FA Cup tie.

"We are now working closely with Merseyside Police to establish the facts of what occurred and identify the individual involved. We would urge any of our supporters with any information to contact either the club or the police."

The police have assigned specialist detectives to the case.

"We can confirm that specialist officers are reviewing match footage, as a result of a picture posted on Twitter," Match Commander, Chief Superintendent Jon Ward, said in a statement.

"This matter is now under investigation by specialist hate crime detectives and we are working with Liverpool Football Club to identify the man in question."

Police said 17 people were ejected from the ground during the game and two were arrested for "low level incidents" but they praised the majority of supporters for their behaviour.