Liverpool condemn fans as Scotland and Norwich midfielder Billy Gilmour subjected to homophobic abuse

That milestone was overshadowed, however, for the 20-year-old after claims made by a fan group ‘Kop Outs’ who represent the LGBT+ community within the Reds’ support.

Sharing criticism of the incident, Kop Outs posted on social media: “Great result today marred by homophobic chanting by some of our fans targeting Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour. If you can’t support without resorting to bigoted nonsense, you don’t understand You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

The chant is offensive and inappropriate – a message we have repeatedly communicated alongside Kop Outs.

We urge supporters to remember the inclusive values of the club and to refrain from using it in the future. https://t.co/67Q5SKoa88

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 14, 2021

And then, following the fan group’s tweet, the club shared a message in response from their own official Twitter account, criticising the yobs who chanted the slurs. “The chant is offensive and inappropriate – a message we have repeatedly communicated alongside Kop Outs,” the statement read.

“We urge supporters to remember the inclusive values of the club and to refrain from using it in the future.”

Supporters of Gilmour’s parent club Chelsea also weighed in on the incident, with Chelsea Pride providing a statement in solidarity with their player.

“Chelsea Pride condemns the actions from a section of Liverpool FC fans who subjected our on-loan Billy Gilmour to homophobic chants at Carrow Road yesterday.

“We stand in solidarity with Kick It Out, Liverpool FC, Kop Outs and Proud Canaries in condemning this and all homophobic behaviour. We will continue to work with clubs and authorities across the game to ensure homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are kicked out of the game.

“There’s no place for hate in football.”

Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all hit the net during yesterday’s curtain-raiser for both sides as Liverpool won 3-0.