Houllier’s side take on another side with a notorious racist following in Spartak Moscow this afternoon and the Frenchman has hinted that he could be prepared to lead his side off the field.

He said: “If it goes too far, I will do something about it that surprises people. I am not going to tell you what, but I will take action.”

UEFA have pledged to take action following the recent spate of racist behaviour in football with PSV Eindhoven recently fined for their supporters’ behaviour.

Houllier added: “You simply cannot ignore what is going on, and I will not. Not when I think of what happened to Emile Heskey a few years ago when he played for England Under-21s against Yugoslavia.

“The abuse then did not come from the fans, it came from the players he was up against. That shows how deep-rooted the problem is. It is creeping into the game again, and we must eradicate it now before it gets any worse.

“I am pleased that UEFA are starting to react, but we have got to go even further and stamp it out once and for all.

“How about banning clubs if they have persistent offenders? Just imagine the reaction if a club were excluded from a tournament for a year,” he told the Daily Mail.

Houllier however is determined not to allow the racists win and has pledged to continue to pick the side he wants to field.

He said: “Would I let these people affect my team selection? Never. I know my players. They will be thinking that the best answer would be to beat Spartak.”