Everton have condemned the vandals who painted Goodison Park's statue of club legend Dixie Dean red in the build-up to today's Merseyside derby. The memorial has now been cleaned up but club officials have refused to point the finger directly at Liverpool fans.
Ian Ross, Everton's head of corporate affairs and PR, said: "This is a disgusting and disrespectful act. I know that all right-thinking lovers of football in this city - be they blue or be they red - will condemn this piece of sick vandalism.
"It would be wrong for us to opt for a knee-jerk response and simply blame Liverpool supporter because true Liverpool supporters - that's 99.9% of them - would never dream of doing such a thing. I suspect this is the work of mindless vandals and not football supporters because Dixie Dean is not only an Everton legend, but a Merseyside sporting hero."
Filed by Johnny Proby
