Sheffield: An alleged racist comment was made by a fan toward Luton player Carlton Morris during his team’s Premier League match against Sheffield United.
Luton manager Rob Edwards said the police had talked to Morris after the game at Bramall Lane, which Luton won 3-2. Liverpool, meanwhile, returned to the top of the table with a 2-0 win at Burnley while Manchester United stunned Aston Villa 3-2 after trailing by two goals early.
“There was an alleged racist comment, the police are dealing with that, they have spoken to Carlton and got his take on it, so it is with them now, I have no more comment on it,” the Luton manager said. “He is all right — he was, at the time, pretty angry but he seems fine now.”
Morris came on as a 71st-minute substitute and created two chances that led to own goals in his team’s win.
The match was the first in the Premier League in 15 years to be officiated by a black referee. Sam Allison took charge of the game.
He spoke to both managers following the incident, Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said.
Luton’s Carlton Morris, centre, speaks with referee Sam Allison as both managers look on.Credit: PA
“There was a comment that was made and the referee came over to speak to me and Rob from a racial point of view, which is obviously not great if found to be the case,” he said.
At Turf Moor, Darwin Nunez ended a 12-game scoring drought to help Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool overtake Arsenal in the standings.
Liverpool moved two points clear of second-place Arsenal, who have a game in hand against West Ham on Thursday (Friday 7.15am AEDT).
Nunez curled a shot from distance beyond Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford in the sixth minute at Turf Moor, having failed to find the back of the net for his club since November 1.
Diogo Jota celebrates the goal which capped Liverpool’s return to the Premier League summit.Credit: Getty
Having drawn back-to-back league games against Manchester United and Arsenal, Liverpool failed to make the most of their dominance with two goals disallowed and Mohamed Salah hitting the bar.
Substitute Diogo Jota eventually ended any concerns of a Burnley equaliser with a goal in the 90th.
“We’ve created a lot of chances recently and haven’t used an awful lot of them but in the end it’s about performing,” Klopp said. “We’ve played four games in 10 days and you just have to get through it.”
Elsewhere, Chris Wood came back to haunt Newcastle and hand Nuno Espirito Santo his first win as Nottingham Forest manager.
Chris Wood’s hat-trick continued his former club Newcastle’s barren run.Credit: Getty
Wood, who joined Newcastle in January 2022 and was sold to Forest 18 months later, struck a hat-trick in his team’s 3-1 win at St. James’ Park.
“I’m just happy to stick them away. That’s what I’m here to do and I’m just happy I could,” the striker said.
Wood was one of Newcastle’s first signings after the club was bought by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021. He moved from Burnley for about $32 million, but was loaned to Forest 12 months later after scoring five goals in 39 appearances.
He completed a permanent move to Forest in June this year in a deal worth $19 million.
Newcastle have now lost five of their last seven games in all competitions and boast only one win in the league during that run.
“It was a difficult afternoon,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.
It was Nuno’s second game in charge at Forest after replacing former manager Steve Cooper before Christmas.
“I think the boys played very well,” Nuno said. “It’s amazing so let’s enjoy it.”
Newcastle took the lead through Alexander Isak’s first-half penalty, but Wood evened the score just before half-time. He went on to score two goals and complete his hat trick after the break.
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