Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike apologizes for celebration that earned him a red card and suspension

By Canadian Press on September 24, 2025.

Hugo Ekitike apologized to Liverpool fans for being sent off after celebrating his game-winning goal against Southampton in the English League Cup on Tuesday.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot described the France striker’s actions as “needless” and “stupid.”

Ekitike will miss the Premier League match against Crystal Palace on Saturday as a result of being shown red for removing his shirt while celebrating the 85th-minute goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory.

“The emotion got the better of me tonight. My apologies to all the Red family,” he posted on Instagram after the game.

The 23-year-old forward had already been shown a yellow card for dissent after coming on as a halftime substitute.

“Needless? Yes. And it was stupid. The first one was already needless and to a certain extent, stupid, as you have got to control your emotions,” Slot said. “I told him that if you score in the Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner I can maybe understand. He is like, ‘This is all about me, what did I do’.

“But I am old-fashioned, I’m 47 and old. I never played at this level, but did score a few goals and if I scored a goal like this, I’d have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said, ‘This goal is all about you, this is not about me.’”

Ekitike’s latest goal was his fifth in eight games for Liverpool after joining the Premier League champion from Eintracht Frankfurt for $93.5 million in July.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

James Robson, The Associated Press