Swindon fan horrified by reason as to why steward refused his entry at match

Swindon Town fan Nigel Pearce was horrified by a reason given to him as to why steward refused his entry at a match against Stevenage.

The supporter, who has Parkinson’s disease, claims he was turned away at Stevenage on Saturday afternoon because stewards thought he was drunk.

The 67 year old went to the weekend’s game at the Lamex Stadium with his two sons and five-year-old grandson, ready to go and support his club like usual matchdays.

Prior to the game getting underway – which saw ugly scenes marred the 1-1 draw (more on that HERE) – the fan was forced to wait outside for 30 minutes before he was even allowed in after his son made a complaint.

He said: “I told the steward I had Parkinson’s and he shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

“They treated me as if I was drunk and I wasn’t allowed into the stadium.

“Another one said ‘go down the road to grab a coffee and sober up’.

“I told them it doesn’t matter how many cups of coffee I have, you can’t change my condition.

“This got me separated between my two sons and grandson.

“My grandson then got quite upset because I was missing, it was quite an embarrassing ordeal.

“I don’t know whether he’s going to go again because he got really upset by it.

“He couldn’t find his grandad and it did make him cry.

“I didn’t want to take him to the football to cry, that’s the last thing I wanted.”

Nigel said the incident showed why better awareness of Parkinson’s is needed at football grounds.

He said: “I don’t know why these stewards aren’t aware, you don’t have to be in a wheelchair to be invalid.

“They don’t understand what Parkinson’s is and how it makes you physically.

“It needs addressing and they need to be trained.

“That’s what I think the problem is.”

Stevenage released a statement on Twitter confirming the club had been made aware of the incident after Nigel posted details on Facebook.

They tweeted: “The club can confirm that the below incident has been reported, and that we are currently in communication with The Football Supporters’ Association.

“#StevenageFC is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive environment for all supporters, and that any form of abuse or discrimination is unacceptable.

A Stevenage spokesperson told the Swindon Advertiser: “The club are currently in communication with the Football Supporters’ Association on the matter.

“Any official club statement will be available to view on www.stevenagefc.com”

Twitter users reacted when seeing that a Swindon fan was left horrified by the reason as to why a steward refused his entry at match…

@FarleyGinge: Honestly we have so many amazing people that work at our club. The club have done SO much for the people and the community. Unfortunately this is down to a steward who hasn’t covered himself in glory by any stretch of the imagination.

@69S_Jiaaaagg: 100% correct. To say the quality of our ‘agency’ stewards is poor would be a complement. They are NOT a representation of our club but are unfortunately the main face of it on match days. To have NO visible police presence was also a failing too. Does not justify hooliganism tho

@PaddyStavros: I found one of your stewards outside the ground most unhelpful, but praise to the bar staff in what i think is the Broadhall Suite ? Bar that welcomes away fans ? Bar staff were fantastic.

@matt_twit1987: Was that an apology?

@playkrispyforme: Stewards outside were antagonistic & unfriendly. 1st tried to confiscate my son’s scarf then had a 5 minute conference about my contact lens solution. What were your actions following previous complaints? Will you continue to use such an unsuitable company?

@PaulGreig1969: Nice non-apology there.

@ChisieWeirdo: Appears it’s not your club staff who have any problems, but the quality of the stewarding company you employ

@OscroftOfficial: Still hope you liquidate

@Cjseds2: Looks like you need new stewards, you can teach good manners and inclusiveness to bigots.

@mtholmes84: You really don’t do apologies at all do you?! Time after time your ‘stewards’ act like a disgrace & you just come out with some token gesture statement & then brush it under carpet. How about you actually do something about it or is it actually you as a club that is the problem?!

@keithfoley73: As with fans letting a club down, Marshall’s can be worse as they officially represent the club – but clearly @StevenageFC would never have condoned this and for anyone to believe otherwise is ridiculous. Needs the individuals involved to be trained and educated.

@bcb_1994: I think the words you’re looking for lads is Sorry. There’s literally no apology in this statement but I’m not surprised anymore by this club let’s be honest. Clubs up and down the country are the same tbf when it comes to breaking the Equalities act 2010. Don’t take it seriously

@medwayred72: The stewards @StevenageFC were rude and very aggressive. My autistic son really struggled with their attitude and now doesn’t want to go to football again .

@kimihair: REALLY DISAPPOINTING not even a sorry or anything. A lot of stewards seem to have power trips and need to be trained better.

@RedsssSeaside: Disgusting. This needs to be taken further.

@DrewZinski: Shocking. Everything is starting to wash out now. The stewards at Stevenage were completely inept and all the fingers are getting pointed at us fans.

@Baldockboro: Disgraceful isn’t it. It was definitely all the stewards fault. It was them that smuggled in the smokebombs It was them that ripped bins off the hoardings, ripped off the hoardings and damaged all the seats. They need to apologise and pay Swindon compensation for hurty feelings

@joteddyuk: This is shocking. Surely it wouldn’t have taken a genius to work out an older gentleman with two younger men and a little boy was unlikely to be under the influence of drink. His explanation should have been sufficient. Disgusting.

It’s not unacceptable it’s more than that it’s literally breaking the law. https://t.co/P2ywve9Kbl pic.twitter.com/tmlA4OfeCa

— bcb_1994 (@bcb_1994) September 6, 2021