Newcastle to Investigate After Mascot Abandoned Before Liverpool Defeat

Arne Slot’s Liverpool boosted their chances of finishing inside the top four with a 4-1 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday evening and the Magpies have pledged to make contact with the family of a young mascot who was left standing alone on the Anfield pitch before kick-off.

Eddie Howe’s men were not at the races on Saturday. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring inside 36 minutes but Hugo Ekitike’s quickfire double between the 41st and 43rd minute meant the Premier League reigning champions went into the break with a one-goal lead.

Summer addition Florian Wirtz then extended their advantage to two goals just shy of the 70-minute mark before unlikely goalscorer Ibrahima Konate scored his first-ever non-headed goal for Liverpool in added time. After the match, though, a damning clip of a young mascot being left alone emerged.

Once the Liverpool and Newcastle players shook hands and began their pre-match preparations, a Magpies mascot was left to fend for herself – and the latest update suggests that Newcastle are looking to get into contact with her family to make amends.

In the footage, which can be seen below, the Newcastle mascot is stood behind the likes of captain Kieran Trippier, Sandro Tonali and Dan Burn as they run off to remove their tracksuit tops.

Left alone with little direction, she wandered alone to the halfway line and looked unsure of what to do and who to turn to with her hands in her pockets. It must be noted: the video does not show what happened after the players moved back into shot.

A Liverpool staff member did appear to encourage the young girl to go over to the Newcastle players as they receive their final pre-match instructions. As shown in the footage, she remained understandably hesitant.

According to The Telegraph‘s Luke Edwards, the club have pledged to make amends by suggesting they will reach out to the family of the young mascot. Telegraph Sport, according to their article, contacted senior figures at St James’ Park after the footage emerged on social media.

“I have been in touch with people at Newcastle this evening after seeing this, and they are looking to make things right with the mascot. Felt so sorry for the little girl,” Edwards wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Newcastle Look to Get Back on Track After Liverpool Defeat

After losing Alexander Isak in the summer of 2025, Newcastle signed Nick Woltemade as his like-for-like replacement – but losing a player of the Sweden talisman’s ilk has certainly been difficult. Their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool proved exactly that as they now sit slap bang in the middle of the 2025/26 Premier League.

As things stand, they are eight points off fourth-placed Manchester United but will be looking to get back to winning ways when they face a wounded Manchester City in the League Cup on Wednesday.

In terms of their Premier League run-in, they play host to Keith Andrews’ Brentford next weekend before visiting Tottenham Hotspur on the Tuesday that follows. Securing top four is doable for the Magpies, of course, but they’ll need the likes of summer acquisition Woltemade to perform above average.

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They also have an FA Cup tie – against Aston Villa on Valentine’s Day (14 February) – and the Champions League to qualify for. At Europe’s top table, they finished 12th in the league phase and now have a play-off tie to play if they are to secure a spot in this season’s knockout rounds.