This disgraceful fan behaviour needs to be called out

This disgraceful behaviour from Liverpool fans in Spain ahead of the Champions League semi-final first leg needs to be called out.

The Reds are in Catalonia ahead of one of the biggest games of the season. It’s exciting. It’s nerve racking. But what it shouldn’t be is an incident waiting to happen.

But a select group of fans, or even a fan, have been filmed acting disgracefully towards the locals and that’s just not on.

There’s no quicker way for a club to lose respect and to be vilified than acts of the sort that were video. And to make it worse, the man in question is reported to have gone on to racially abuse further bystanders.

What these supporters need to realise is that they aren’t just representing themselves on away trips, they’re representing their club and the city they’re from.

It’s tough for the club to act or to stop individuals travelling abroad – but a swift condemnation should help to distance Liverpool away from the act, as well as a stadium ban for those involved.

In this digital age, it’s impossible for any indiscretion to go unnoticed, and that doesn’t mean travelling supporters shouldn’t try and have a good. They should. But there needs to be an element of self-policing and an understanding that this type of behaviour is not acceptable.

When Liverpool play, and hopefully beat, Barcelona the headlines need to be about the football that was played – not about the supporters who ruined the occasion. And that goes for both sets.

With Tottenham Hotspur on the verge of being knocked out the Champions League by Ajax, if the Reds can get past Barca they have a golden chance of taking home the biggest European crown.