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24th September 2025
09:59am BST
Liverpool's new striker signing Hugo Ekitike has taken to Instagram to make a statement following his red card last night.
The French centre-forward scored the winning goal for Liverpool in the 85th minute, and charged over to the Liverpool faithful and removed his shirt in celebration.
It appeared that the 23-year-old had forgotten he was already booked early in the second half for petulance after being penalised for a foul.
The removal of a shirt is always a yellow card offence, which left referee Thomas Bramall with no choice but to send him to the stands.
Immediately after the game Reds' manager Arne Slot responded to Ekitike's red card, saying: "The first one [booking] was already needless and to a certain extent stupid because you have to control your emotions in a way that does not lead to a yellow card.
"I told him if you score in the Champions League final after beating three defenders and putting the ball in the top corner, I can maybe understand it is all about 'me'.
"But I am old-fashioned. If I scored a goal like this I would go to Federico Chiesa [who assisted the goal] and say it is all about you, not about me. It was needless and not smart. You call it stupid and I call it stupid."
Ekitike has since taken to Instagram to apologise himself.
His statement reads: "I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match.
"The emotion got the better of me tonight. My apologies to all the Red family. Thanks to the fans who always support us and to my team-mates for secured this victory!"
Ekitike will miss this weekend's match with Crystal Palace and is likely to be replaced by Alexander Isak.
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