Newcastle United’s players left their young mascot abandoned on the pitch at Anfield before their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday.

Footage of the incident went viral on social media on Sunday night after a supporter had filmed the two teams walking out of the tunnel and onto the pitch.

The young girl was led out of the tunnel by Kieran Trippier, who was Newcastle’s captain for the game in the absence of Bruno Guimaraes, who was missing due to an ankle injury.

But after the two teams had shaken hands, Trippier and the rest of Newcastle’s players left the girl standing alone on the pitch for over a minute while they removed their pre-match tracksuit jackets and handed them to a member of staff on the touchline.

Liverpool’s photographer then urged the girl to walk over to the Newcastle players who had ran over the touchline but she stayed alone near the centre circle.

The video ended with the young girl still stood alone in the middle of the pitch as Newcastle’s players made their final preparations before the game started.

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