Yet again, the weekend saw more shocking racist abuse by ‘fans’ towards footballers not just at matches but also online.
A Brentford season-ticket holder was arrested following a claim of abuse by Derby midfielder Duane Holmes, Northampton stated that some of their first-team players were allegedly abused as they went on a pre-match walk from the team hotel before their clash with Notts County and Wigan reported a horrifying message sent to Nathan Byrne on social media.
The EFL said in a statement: “The EFL was saddened, disappointed and angered to hear of further reports of alleged racism following the conclusion of some matches on Saturday afternoon.
“It was exceptionally disappointing that this happened as clubs up and down the country were raising awareness of such issues as part of Kick it Out’s Week of Action.
“We remain fully committed to continuing to work alongside The FA and Premier League as well as other relevant parties to ensure that football provides a welcoming environment for supporters attending matches and those participating in them.
“We cannot, and will not, accept this type of behaviour inside our stadiums, as we know our clubs won’t.”
EFL Statementhttps://t.co/mUJjBgbJoY#EFL pic.twitter.com/sisGWb42dt
— EFL (@EFL) 7 April 2019
A Brentford statement on their website read: “Brentford Football Club can confirm that a season-ticket holder was arrested following today’s game against Derby County.
“The man in question has been accused of committing a racially-aggravated public order offence in the later stages of today’s game. He was identified at the time, removed from the ground and subsequently arrested.”
“The club utterly condemns discrimination of any kind. It is abhorrent and has no place in society and we are determined to drive it out of Griffin Park.”
Club Statement on arrest at Griffin Parkhttps://t.co/skDotH6fJ0
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) 6 April 2019
Metropolitan Police stated a man was in custody and an investigation was ongoing.
Nathan Byrne posted a screenshot on his Twitter account of a message he received following his side’s 2-2 draw with Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies
In a statement, Wigan said: “Wigan Athletic Football Club are angered by racist abuse received on the personal Twitter account of one of our players, Nathan Byrne, on Saturday afternoon.
“We have reported the incident to the police and will work with the relevant authorities to assist them with their investigations.
“There is no place for discrimination in society and social media is not an exception to those rules. We find this behaviour abhorrent.”
Northampton’s statement read: “Northampton Town Football Club confirm that a number of the first-team squad were racially abused ahead of Saturday’s game at Notts County.
“The incident occurred in Nottingham as the squad went on their normal pre-match walk from the team hotel before the game.
“We would like to highly commend our players for the professional manner in which they handled the situation and as a club we stand together in condemning such actions.
“We are working with the relevant authorities and have asked anyone with any information about the incident, or possible witnesses, to contact the club.”
STATEMENT: Club and players stand together following racist abuse: https://t.co/aY6htljD36
— Northampton Town (@ntfc) 7 April 2019
Kick It Out said: “Another week, another group of players racially abused.
“We won’t stop highlighting this disgraceful behaviour while it remains deeply ingrained within football. We’ll be liaising with the relevant authorities and offering support to clubs and players involved.”
Fans took to social media to slam and mock the racist whilst others came out in support for Nathan Byrne – check out those tweets on the next page.
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