FA to talk to Roberto Firmino and Mason Holgate amid racial abuse claims during clash in Liverpool's FA Cup third round win over Everton

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The Football Association will this week make contact with Roberto Firmino and Mason Holgate after the Everton player complained that he was racially abused by the Liverpool striker during Friday night’s FA Cup clash at Anfield.

As the FA confirmed on Saturday, referee Bobby Madley ‘was made aware of an allegation’ during the clash and ‘has subsequently reported this’ to the governing body, ‘which will now begin making enquiries into the matter’.

The FA will now interview both the players and the officials, although if the officials had heard Firmino use words of a racist nature it would have surely led to his dismissal.

Liverpool face another potential race case after Roberto Firmino's clash with Mason Holgate

Liverpool have said that both their club and the player will fully cooperate with the FA, in what is a sincere effort to respect the process of the FA investigation after their disastrous handling of the Luis Suarez race storm in 2011.

Club officials are also sensitive, understandably, to the fact that it was only last month that they wholeheartedly supported their 17-year-old England junior international, Rhian Brewster, in revealing he had been a victim of racism on numerous occasions.

Firmino was clearly upset after being shoved into the advertising hoardings by Holgate, with lip-reading experts reportedly claiming that based on television evidence the Brazilian appeared to say: ‘Es maluco, filho da puta?’ Translated it means: ‘Are you crazy, you son of a b***h?’

Firmino immediately rushed over to Holgate after the Everton man pushed him off the pitch

But Holgate then responded angrily to something further Firmino may have said – perhaps when the television camera’s view of the Liverpool forward was obscured by another player – and after Liverpool’s third-round victory the defender was accompanied by manager Sam Allardyce and director of football Steve Walsh in complaining to Madley that his opponent had used the word ‘negro’.

Right now it remains an allegation and it is unclear if Firmino will dispute Holgate’s version of events.

Cameras appeared to capture Firmino hollering ‘filho da puta’ (Portuguese for son of a bitch)

But the investigation into Suarez concluded with an FA commission stating that he used ‘insulting words with a reference to Patrice Evra’s colour’ in 2011 – it was found that he had repeated the word ‘negrito’ or 'negro' towards Evra without any provocation - and was fined £40,000 and banned for eight matches.

A similarly unsavoury incident between John Terry and Anton Ferdinand escalated to a criminal matter, and while the then Chelsea and former England captain was cleared of the allegation at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, he was banned for four games and fined £220,000 by the FA.

Liverpool will be keen to avoid a repeat of the long-drawn saga caused by Luis Suarez in 2011