Everton class next home game as ‘high risk’

The club have decided to take the extraordinary measure

Everton have categorised their next home fixture as 'high risk' as the toxic situation around the club continues to intensify. Last weekend's 2-1 defeat against Southampton was also placed into that category after the Toffees received guidance that the safety of board members was under risk. Chairman Bill Kenwright, Chief Executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Grant Ingles – the Finance Director – and club legend Graeme Sharp were all advised not to go while fans called for owner Farhad Moshiri to 'sack the board'. The Merseyside club want their board members to be present for their next fixture at Goodison Park, against league leaders Arsenal, and are working on security measures to ensure that it is a normal match day experience for them, as per the Daily Mail. Everton are currently in talks with Merseyside Police, who released a statement to say that they hadn't received any reports about incidents that took place at Goodison Park, before or after the game, where a number of players were confronted. They said: "Any threats reported to Merseyside Police would be assessed and investigated as a matter of course, and any appropriate safety measures implemented." Videos on social media saw the likes of Anthony Gordon being surrounded and called a '****ing rat' while Yerry Mina got out of his car to plead with fans. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnaKAv9MbCg/ In light of the events, Everton want to ensure that security procedures and protocols are enhanced for staff and players on the day of the Arsenal game. A club statement read: "The club will not be making any comment related to specific historic incidents. The club would like to thank the vast majority of supporters who behaved impeccably before, during and after the game with Southampton." Related links:

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• Everton directors told to stay away from Premier League match due to ‘credible threat to their safety’