Liverpool knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup but were put on the defensive when the question of racism again raised its head at Anfield. An image of a Liverpool fan appearing to make an offensive monkey gesture was circulated on Twitter, prompting Merseyside police to make an arrest.

Patrice Evra, who became embroiled in the row that led to Luis Suárez being found guilty of racially abusing the United defender in the 1–1 draw on 15 October, was booed loudly every time he touched the ball during the Cup tie, which Liverpool won 2–1.

Merseyside police said in a statement: "We can confirm that a 59-year-old man from North Wales has been arrested following an alleged incident. The man has been taken to a police station and will be questioned by officers. Merseyside Police would like to thank North Wales Police and Liverpool Football Club for their assistance with this matter."

When Kenny Dalglish was asked what he thought of Evra's every touch being booed, the Liverpool manager responded: "Are you winding me up?" He added: "Why would I be disappointed for Evra? I can't believe you have asked that question before anything else. Have you ever played football? I used to get booed.

"The media has played its part this week in trying to maintain dignity and respect on the pitch and to concentrate on the game. The behaviour of both sets of players on the pitch was a credit to the game. There was banter between the two sets of fans but it was friendly. There may not have been a lot of respect, but both sets of supporters were brilliant. I don't think there was anything there that was untoward."

The Kop joined in several choruses of "There's only one lying bastard", putting into words what appeared to be the underlying theme of Liverpool's defence of Suárez.

Queens Park Rangers players took a collective decision to back Anton Ferdinand by not shaking hands with their opponents before their Cup tie with Chelsea at Loftus Road, which they lost 1–0. However, the Football Association chose to discard the usual pre-match convention. The issue was a concern due to John Terry being accused of making a racially abusive slur at Ferdinand in October. Terry will answer the charge, which he denies, at West London magistrates' court on Wednesday.

Mark Hughes, the QPR manager, said: "It was absolutely the correct decision. There was so much tension hinging on such a brief moment in time, it was clouding the issue: the FA Cup tie. The fact we took it out of the equation was the right thing to do. There were discussions yesterday. We had a meeting as a management and players last night. Chelsea had their views and we all came to the same decision."

Pressed if it was because his players may have refused to shake any Chelsea player's hand, he said: "It could well have been an issue. Players have to make their own decision. Anton was the guy who had to make his own decision whether to shake JT's hand. Obviously, with the group I've got, they wanted to support their team-mate as well. So take it out of the equation. Why give handshakes if they're not done with integrity. If they're not right, why do them at all?"

Hughes added he would like to see the handshake completely removed from football. "They're an irritation," he said. "I don't know who dreamed it up, or why people think it's vitally important that people do this. Why not do it like in the good old days?"

After Ferdinand had received a death threat and bullet in the post on Friday Hughes admitted that before the defender could face Chelsea, QPR sought advice. He said: "We took direction from the police and security. If they'd communicated anything to us, we'd have communicated to Anton. But it was important he went out and faced what he had to, and he's come away with a lot of credit.

"He was sent a letter with some 'bullet', pellet, in it. We gave it straight to the police and let them deal with it. There was a letter, too. I'm not going to divulge the contents. We were right to be concerned with the contents of the letter. It wasn't nice."

Terry faced abusive chants throughout the tie but André Villas-Boas, his manager, was pleased with how he played. "Individually, from John, it was an excellent performance. Very focused. He managed to get the off-the-field events out of his mind and concentrate fully on the game."

Regarding the handshake Villas-Boas added: "It was a wise decision given the expectancy around what could happen in the handshake. Bearing that in mind, it was wise not to do it because it could have had an effect on what happened immediately afterwards. I was informed of the decision 45 minutes before the game, maybe 50 minutes."