TRANMERE executive chairman Mark Palios attended a special event from Merseyside Police to mark Hate Crime Awareness Week.
Mr Palios was joined by local poet Levi Tafari, trans female Sasha Taylor, chief constable Andy Cooke, managing director of Daisy UK Dave Kelly and the Rector of Liverpool Rev Dr Crispin Pailing.
Chaired by BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Roger Phillips, the event at the Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas in Liverpool city centre highlighted how communities in Merseyside are working side-by-side to combat hate crime and was attended by representatives from faith groups, organisations, police officers and local schoolchildren.
A play written by Paula Currie called 'Unite Against Hate' was also performed by the People's Players from the Royal Court.
Chief constable Cooke said: "Merseyside is rightly proud of being a diverse place to live, work and socialise and I am delighted that so many representatives from across the community can come together for this event.
"We hear so much about division in society at the moment, but it is an honour to lead our force in an area where people are generally tolerant of other people regardless of their race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or political persuasion.
"There is no place in our society for hate crime and Merseyside Police is committed to maintaining the right of all our communities to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect.
"It is vital that we give our support to anyone who believes they have been subjected to abuse or left in fear because of who they are and I want to reassure the public that the Force is committed to taking action against those responsible for hate crime and building trust with the most vulnerable members of our communities."
All week events have been held to help tackle hate crime with officers visiting schools and community groups.
T/DCI Paul Lamb said: "Merseyside is a very welcoming place, and the vast majority of people show a great deal of understanding and tolerance towards people who are different to them.
“But we know hate crime has been a vastly under-reported crime for a long time now.
"If people are being targeted because they are perceived to be different then we want them to come forward and tell us, rather than suffer in silence.
"The more action we can take against perpetrators, the more confidence we can instil in victims that if they report things to the police we will protect, support them and make it stop.
"Victims can report directly to the police where specially-trained hate crime officers will treat them with sensitivity and compassion, or via third party reporting centres such as the new centre at Whiston hospital, at fire stations, citizen advice bureaus and elsewhere where the information will be passed on.
"By continuing to encourage greater reporting we can protect and support more victims and make it clear to perpetrators that we will do everything we can to put them before the courts."
Anyone who has been subjected to hate crime can call Merseyside Police on 101 or independent charity Stop Hate UK on 0800 138 1625 or visit http://www.stophateuk.org
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