Jordan Henderson has now responded after being cleared of an FA charge for an alleged offensive comment to Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
Late on in the 3-2 loss to Arsenal at the start of October, Henderson became embroiled in a heated incident with Gabriel that led to a complaint to referee Michael Oliver.
Oliver then made it known to both Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta, with the game allowed to be played on before an investigation by the FA.
It was suggested that Henderson had made a discriminative remark in Portuguese – Brazilian Gabriel’s native tongue – but this was later dismissed.
“Whilst the FA is entirely satisfied that the allegation was made in good faith,” a statement read, “it is equally satisfied that there is no case to answer.”
This came after taking witness statements from six players close to the incident, along with independent linguistics experts, with the process described as “full and thorough.”
Clearly, it was simply a case of misinterpretation, and despite the damaging claims against him, Henderson has now spoken with maturity on the situation.
“I understand why I have to be asked about this, but what I tried to do was respect the process,” he told the Mail.
“I have spoken before about black players being brave enough to speak out about discrimination so I couldn’t then change my stance.
“I still feel I need to show respect now, even though it’s been dealt with.
“I’ve let the FA do what they needed to do and I still feel it wouldn’t be right for me to speak about it.
“It is just as important to respect the process afterwards as it is during the case.
“I could speak to you all day about how I was feeling but I have to accept what happened and move on.
“By the way, that wasn’t easy. There were a million and one things I wanted to say – emotional things – but I think it would have been wrong.
“It has not changed my mind that people must be empowered to come forward if they feel they have been wronged.
“It has changed my thoughts a little bit about the person who has been accused but if people feel they have been discriminated against, they must come forward.
“It would not be right for me to sit here and say how hard it was for me, because there is another person involved as well.
“It has been dealt with and it was another learning experience in my life.”
Well said, captain.
Meanwhile, Garbiel has so far not commented on his false accusation.
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