North Cumbria Police have launched an investigation after an alleged incident of racist abuse aimed at Everton striker Arouna Kone during the Toffees' 3-0 FA Cup win at Carlisle United on Sunday afternoon.
Kone opened the scoring just two minutes into the contest at Brunton Park but as he celebrated with teammates, a section of Carlisle fans appeared to engage in racist chanting in their direction.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez spoke with his Carlisle counterpart Keith Curle during the game about the best course of action to take, and an announcement was subsequently made over the stadium tannoy informing supporters that racist language would not be tolerated.
Superintendent Justin Bibby of the North Cumbria Police told The Independent: "We are investigating a report and will be working with the club to ascertain what happened."
Martinez later told BT Sport: "We agreed to make an announcement. I thought the referee was very good in how he dealt with that.
"It was just a reaction, something that we don't want to see. It was just a reaction to the celebration of the goal and that was it. It would be wrong to highlight such a moment in an enjoyable footballing festivity."
Aaron Lennon and Ross Barkley also found the net for Toffees to ensure their progression to the fifth round of the competition.
Neil Wilkes
