Former Man City defender Micah Richards has taken aim at Benfica supporters for their behaviour towards Liverpool's Luis Diaz
Micah Richards highlighted how 'disgusting' it was to see objects thrown at the Liverpool forward after he scored late on in the 3-1 win over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final in Lisbon on Tuesday night.
Diaz was given a rough reception from the Benfica crowd after being a former star for their bitter rivals, Porto. The Colombian finished off a fine run and pass from Naby Keita to give Liverpool their two-goal advantage and objects from an angry crowd were thrown at him during his celebrations.
The same act was seen to have happened when Diaz was handed the Man of the Match trophy at the end of the game as the Benfica fans made their feelings known towards the ex-Porto forward.
"Disgusting behaviour," said Richards. "I know he has played for Porto and he is their rival. But the fans should know better than that."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher backed Richards by saying he believes 'rivalry and tribalism' is more frequent in football now compared to when he was growing up.
Carragher said: "It's happening a lot more in the game. I don’t think he (the fan) will be going to that stadium anytime soon.
"In the FA Cup in England. We actually saw a fan run onto the pitch and throw a punch at someone. I think it was Nottingham Forest v Leicester City. This is creeping into our game. It's not just in Portugal. I am saying this is happening in England and all over the place.
"The rivalry and tribalism in football now, it certainly wasn't like that when I was growing up and watching football.
"I think with the amount of football we see. Social media. I do think fans and everybody gets a lot more wound up by football – football seems a lot bigger than when I was younger. It’s the only thing you see on TV. It's blanket coverage. It’s on your phone and it’s a constant thing – I think it’s pretty bad at times."