Saturday 15 April 2017 14:12, UK
Merseyside Police have confirmed they're investigating an allegation of a racial hate crime, following a newspaper article about Ross Barkley.
A member of the public contacted police complaining the comments published in The Sun newspaper about the Everton midfielder were racist - Barkley is mixed race and of Nigerian decent.
In a statement Merseyside Police said: "Enquiries are now being carried out to establish the full circumstances of the incident.
"We take all allegations of hate crime extremely seriously."
A Sun spokesperson said: "Columnists are supposed to have strong opinions that provoke debate among the readers. However their views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper."
Friday's article regarding Barkley follows an "unprovoked attack" on the 23-year-old in a Liverpool city centre bar last weekend.
A leaked CCTV video on the incident showed the England midfielder speaking to another man before he then appeared to be punched in the face and quickly disappeared out of shot.
The incident took place in the hours after Barkley had played in Everton's 4-2 win over Leicester City at Goodison Park.
