Liverpool Football club has said it will take action against a man who called two Muslim fans “a disgrace” for praying at Anfield during half time.
The football club has said it received complaints after a man tweeted a picture of solicitors Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula worshipping during the half-time break at Liverpool’s FA Cup match against Blackburn Rovers on 8 March.
Stephen Dodd caused outrage on Twitter after posting a photo of the two men praying and writing: “Muslims praying at half time at the match yesterday #DISGRACE.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, Liverpool FC has said that it is investigating what action should be taken.
“Last month, Liverpool Football Club received complaints of a tweet showing an image of Muslim fans praying during half-time at Anfield accompanied by comments that were offensive to the complainants,” the statement said.
“The club reported the tweet, which was posted online on Sunday March 8, 2015, to Merseyside Police.
“Merseyside Police investigated the matter and has referred this to LFC to take appropriate action against the individual involved. The club is currently in the process of determining the appropriate action to take and a further update statement will be made in due course.
The club said it does not tolerate any form of discrimination, adding that it is “committed to ensuring that the club and Anfield provides a welcoming and safe environment for all fans regardless of race, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation”.
Some fans called for Dodd to be banned from future matches, with others describing him as a disgrace to the club.
Stephen Dodd should never be allowed to step foot in Anfield again #DISGRACE
— Jessica Cavanagh (@jessicaglitters) April 15, 2015
#stephendodd a disgrace to the liverpool family
— Rob Coyle (@tubacoyle) March 13, 2015
Bodi, 46, from Preston, whose eight-year-old son Ayman can also be seen in Dodd’s photo, told the Liverpool Echo he was relieved Dodd’s tweet had been widely criticised:
“My little boy said at the time ‘someone is taking a picture of us’ and I thought maybe it was someone who hadn’t seen prayers before,” he said.
“I certainly didn’t expect to be called a disgrace for doing it. But the support since has been very nice and I’m thankful.”
Explaining the Islamic prayer tradition, he said: “We have a small window in which to pray, a bit like the transfer window in football. Once that closes the chance has gone.
“That day, the time came for prayer and the window would have closed before the game finished so we did it at half-time.
“Most people are absolutely fine with it and the stewards at Anfield are wonderful, but it only takes one or two people to react in the wrong way and you could have a nasty situation.”
Bhula, 37, who has known Bodi since childhood, said he would happily meet Dodd to explain the importance of prayers in Islam.
He said: “We’ve had a lot of nice comments since and I appreciate that. We weren’t harming anybody.
“Education is key to stopping things like this from happening. Maybe the man who took the photo has not come across Muslims before who have explained the significance of prayer.
“I would be quite happy to meet with him to explain why we pray and when it needs to be done.”
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