{"id":415676,"date":"2026-01-17T16:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/415676\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T16:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:37:09","slug":"liverpool-criticised-for-pathetic-response-after-rafaela-borggrafe-banned-for-six-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/415676\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Criticised For ‘Pathetic’ Response After Rafaela Borggrafe Banned For Six Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool have come under fire following their response to a lengthy ban handed to their women\u2019s goalkeeper on Friday. Rafaela Borggrafe, who joined the club on a free transfer from SC Freiburg over the summer, has been suspended for six matches by the Football Association after being found to have made a racist comment referencing skin colour.<\/p>\n

The German goalkeeper has already served five games of the suspension, having been unavailable while the FA investigation was ongoing. Borggrafe accepted the charge and has also been ordered to undertake an education programme after the remark was overheard by staff and teammates during pre-season, while Liverpool<\/a> were preparing for a squad photograph. The club conducted an internal review before referring the matter to the FA.<\/p>\n

According to The Guardian<\/a>, further details of the case will not be made public on player welfare grounds. However, the reaction from Liverpool boss Gareth Taylor has triggered widespread criticism online, with supporters from both Liverpool and rival clubs accusing the club of failing to take a strong enough stance and calling for tougher action.<\/p>\n

Liverpool Face Backlash Following Rafaela Borggrafe’s Racism Ban <\/p>\n

\"Rafaela<\/p>\n

While the FA was investigating Borggrafe, she played in Liverpool\u2019s next four matches. She was then selected as an unused substitute in their next five games, before her ban came into force before a loss to Arsenal on 6 December. It is that fact, along with Taylor’s blaize comments, that have called into question the Red’s actions. The head coach said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation is the situation. The team and the club have acted in the appropriate way. We\u2019ve supported the FA in this investigation. I will say, it\u2019s been dragged on a little bit. I think that\u2019s been frustrating for everyone involved, particularly Rafa. But we\u2019re happy now that it\u2019s completed, we\u2019re happy now that we have some actual detail on what it looks like, and all of us can now move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gareth<\/p>\n

Reacting to Taylor’s comments and Liverpool’s decision to continue playing her, sports reporter Beth Fisher remarked: “Pathetic by Liverpool, pathetic response by Taylor. Another day in football that racism is basically treated like some playground offence. Disgusting,” while another added: “She should never play for the club again.”<\/p>\n

A third also wrote: The fact that Liverpool themselves are revealing the results and not the FA is extremely concerning. Also, that it had taken five weeks to do so, while the public was left in the dark. It gives the vibe that they tried to save Borggrafes reputation, but thankfully failed.”<\/p>\n

Another Low Point for Liverpool in Troubled 2025\/26 Season<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s summer of 2025 was littered with missteps from top to bottom. The decision to part ways with legendary late manager Matt Beard in the pursuit of something more exciting required a significant war chest to match the ambition. Instead, the club sold Olivia Smith to Arsenal for a world-record \u00a31 million fee that was barely reinvested into Taylor\u2019s squad, with the Borggrafe situation now a stark, and deeply worrying, illustration of that shortfall.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Reds have suffered further hammer blows, with ACL injuries to Marie Hobinger and Sophie Roman-Haug compounding their problems. The outcome has been a winless Women\u2019s Super League<\/a> campaign through the first 12 matches, leaving Liverpool rooted to the bottom of the table in January. During this sticky spell, one relationship the club will be keen to protect is that with their vocal supporter base.<\/p>\n

That could yet mean opting not to play Borggrafe for the remainder of the season. However, from a performance standpoint, the goalkeeping department should be among Liverpool\u2019s lesser concerns. Rachael Laws has remained a reliable presence between the sticks, while recent loanee Jennifer Falk made an encouraging start by keeping a clean sheet on her debut in the 0-0 draw with London City Lionesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool have come under fire following their response to a lengthy ban handed to their women\u2019s goalkeeper on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-415676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}