Merseyside Police investigating offensive tweets believed to be aimed at Pickford and Richarlison

Merseyside Police have announced they are investigating several offensive tweets believed to have been aimed at Everton duo Jordan Pickford and Richarlison following the weekend’s fiery Merseyside derby.

The Toffees goalkeeper’s performance in their 2-2 draw against Liverpool was mired in controversy after a nasty challenge on Virgil Van Dijk saw him widely condemned but ultimately escape a sending off, while Brazilian forward Richarlison saw red for an unpleasant challenge on Reds midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

However, police have confirmed that an investigation has now begun looking into a number of tweets in relation to two Everton players believed to be the England and Brazil internationals respectively. 

Merseyside Police are investigating offensive tweets allegedly sent to Everton’s Richarlison

Toffess keeper Jordan Pickford is also said to have received abusive tweets being looked at

‘Those who use the internet to make threats or commit hate crime are not beyond the law. Detectives are making enquiries to identify individuals,’ Merseyside Police are quoted as saying by BBC Radio Merseyside.

The news comes after Pickford controversially avoided a retrospective ban from the Football Association for his horror tackle on Van Dijk, which is expected to rule the Dutch defender out for the season after a scan at the weekend confirmed an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The FA said on Monday no further action would be taken as referee Michael Oliver saw the incident in the first six minutes of the action-packed derby.

They also detailed that match officials, including the Video Assistant Referee David Coote, reviewed the incident at the time but said Liverpool were not awarded a penalty because of Van Dijk’s offside position.

Pickford caused controversy after his awful challenge on Virgil Van Dijk went unpunished

Richarlison meanwhile was sent off after a horror challenge on Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara

Coote is also said to have concluded that Pickford’s tackle did not meet the necessary threshold for a red card to be brandished and therefore no retrospective ban was issued.

News of Pickford escaping a ban was met with disgust by some supporters who had hoped ‘justice’ would have been meted out given Van Dijk’s likely long-term absence, but it now appears some posts have gone further which has caused the police to get involved.

There was less controversy however for Richarlison, who was immediately sent off by Oliver following his awful challenge on Spaniard Thiago, who was also in hospital alongside Van Dijk for a scan.

The Brazilian did apologise for his challenge but will now miss the club’s next three games against Southampton, Newcastle and Manchester United.

‘Everyone who knows my background knows that I was never a violent player,’ Richarlison wrote on his website. ‘I did not enter that dispute with the intention of hurting Thiago.

‘I already sent a message to him apologizing and I also do it here publicly. I hope he hasn’t been hurt and that everything is fine.’

Reports however state that former Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago is expected to miss Liverpool’s Champions League opener against Ajax in midweek. 

But it was the Van Dijk challenged that went unpunished that appeared to irk Liverpool more, with the Anfield side taking the extraordinary step of demanding the Premier League explain the two hugely contentious VAR decisions which cost them victory.

‘It is not good,’ Klopp said before leaving Goodison Park. ‘Virg plays with pain and he never misses a game.

‘I do not know what it is but it does not look good.’

As well as the Pickford challenge, Henderson’s disallowed winner proved highly contentious with Sadio Mane adjudged to have been offside in the build-up.

Klopp continued: ‘I come in the dressing room and people stand there with a laptop. And we watch the situation back and we don’t understand why this was offside.

‘Since then I had 10 interviews and everyone tells me it was not offside and that doesn’t lift my mood obviously.

‘Look, I’m a real supporter of VAR but what you expect with offside is the right decision.’

Pundits have also condemned Pickford for his challenge, including Graeme Souness and Ryan Mason, but others have come to his defence, such as former Reds defender Jamie Carragher.