Yeovil Town supporters have called for a boycott of their FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round replay against Haringey Borough after racism allegations.
The original tie between the two sides was abandoned on Saturday when Haringey players walked off the pitch with their players claiming that they had been racially abused by some Yeovil supporters.
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As well as that, there are claims bottles were thrown and some of the culprits had spat at the Haringey goalkeeper, after failing to save a Yeovil penalty.
Despite this, all allegations of racial abuse remain unsubstantiated and a number of supporters who were at the match have denied all claims of discrimination towards the home side, according to Somerset Live
The Football Association has decided that there will be a replay at Haringey next Tuesday whilst the investigation continues.
So far, two Yeovil fans has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault, they were bailed without charge on Wednesday.
Fans on social media have urged Yeovil fans to not attend the fixture.
@Thedeephelmet said: “Don’t put a penny into this club.”
@DannyCabs2 added: “You have to be joking? After everything they have said about our club over the past week.”
Callum Ridger tweeted: “Boycott the game.”
Other fans said they would be making the journey again.
Johns Wallace said: “I will attempt to make it to the rematch in order to apologise for the disgraceful behaviour from some YTFC fans during the abandoned fixture, and try to demonstrate that our fanbase as a whole is not as ignorant as it may seem.
Lifelong Yeovil Town supporter and district councillor Graham Oakes was at the abandoned fixture and revealed how he was left embarrassed by what happened, but doesn’t want people to be put off by visiting the club or town just because of a few mindless idiots.
He said: “We stopped at Fleet services on the way back from the game and for the first time in my life, I was embarrassed to be wearing a Yeovil Town shirt. I didn’t feel as though I had done anything wrong, but the fact was we’d just been listening to the radio and seeing all the reports.
“We’re not racists, we’re not aggressive. As fans we will take the mickey out of you but that’s as far as it goes. We’re being waved around internationally as though we are a rough and horrible club, but that could not be further from the truth.
“Yeovil has always been a family club. The club is hardly ever talked about as causing any trouble, and that’s because as supporters we’re welcoming and we look after each other. Now, because of the actions of a few people, we’ve ended up with one of the more bitter days in our history.
“It’s clear that Yeovil as a town has benefited from the success of the football club. There is no difference between the town and the football club in the sense that we are a community.
“Going to watch Yeovil, it’s a lovely, friendly, family atmosphere supporting a squad of players from all different backgrounds. I’ve never heard any racism from our fans before. We give opposing players stick like any other set of fans does, but that’s never about colour.
“I’m hoping that the FA investigation will show what really happened. I don’t think the incident was handled well by the referee, but it’s just a shame that as a club we have let ourselves down as a result of two bottles that were thrown and the actions of a few people. That is a shame, but we cannot let that affect the team.
“We need to pull together and get on with the task of trying to win the National League. All the town wants is for our team to win the league this season, nothing else.
“For people coming to Yeovil, they will get their usual reception, which is the promise of good cider, good food and good hospitality, and they’ll be welcomed here by all of us.
“The lack of stewarding made it worse. I feel that if it was at Huish Park, we would not be talking about it now.
“Maybe in future an idea could be for Yeovil to bring stewards with them if they get drawn to play against another side at this level. Then, if people are too drunk, then they get thrown out. Haringey did not have the stewards to do that, and while I’m in no way condoning the behaviour of our fans, it didn’t help the situation.”
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