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York City issues threat to fans amid reports of racist and homophobic chants

York City issues a threat to fans amid reports of racist and homophobic chants heard during the game at Aldershot Town on Saturday.

The Minstermen, who sit 8th in the National League, say they have a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to any form of discrimination and have been left disappointed to hear about a fan’s claim on social media of what he heard from supporters at The EBB Stadium.

The club has said it won’t hesitate to involve the police, should any kind of evidence surface, and life banning orders could be another sanction.

York fell to a 2-1 defeat at Aldershot, though played much of the game with ten men after Alex Hurst’s first-half sending off and were ultimately beaten, despite Lenell John-Lewis’ equalising goal.

York City fan Joel Stern Tweeted: “The biggest disappointment today was the racist and homophobic chanting from a couple of idiots in the York City end. Thought we were better than that?!?!?”

A response to the tweet from the Minstermen read: “We are disappointed to hear of this from our fans.

“The club would like to remind supporters of our zero tolerance to any kind of discrimination.

“If we gather evidence, we will have no hesitation in reporting it to the police and consider life banning orders.”

This comes just a month after John-Lewis was the victim of racist chants in City’s 1-0 win at Yeovil Town. See more on that HERE.

The Football Association and police investigated, but the inquiries were ultimately ended earlier this month.

An investigation concluded following alleged racist chanting with Yeovil saying they have been unable to identify a supporter following the review of CCTV footage from the fixture.

Yeovil launched an internal investigation alongside Kick It Out, Avon and Somerset Police and the supporter’s group. After speaking with those who sit within the Screwfix Community Stand, as well as reviewing footage, they were unable to identify the fan who was heard chanting racial slurs.

York said they are “disappointed” that an investigation in to racial abuse directed at Lennell John-Lewis has not been able to identify an offender.

In a statement published by the York Press, York City said: “We are disappointed that Yeovil have not been able to identify the culprit.

“There must be somebody who would be able to identify who was involved, but have chosen not to come forward.

“Society needs to work together to stand up to racism in all its forms, allowing perpetrators of racist acts to stay anonymous is to be complicit in their wrongdoing.”

Avon & Somereset Police has said the investigation had “exhausted all reasonable lines of enquiry”, adding that it would always look in to an new information which comes forward about the incident.

In its response, Yeovil Town said: “As a football club, Yeovil Town finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour totally abhorrent and unacceptable. It is completely against the values of our club, and we believe it has no place at Huish Park or anywhere else within our communities.

“We continue to stand against all forms of racist, sexist, or homophobic discrimination and we reiterate that we will always seek to take the strongest action against anyone identified committing these acts.”

Twitter users gave their thoughts as York City issues a threat to fans amid reports of racist and homophobic chants at Aldershot…

@simonsoothill: Didn’t hear that in the posh seats. Unacceptable.

@joelstern: Was just one or two individuals but still, not what you expect from City fans.

@simonsoothill: Piss poor. Especially after the YTFC stuff against the shop.

@Noddy_Holder: I hope you pointed them out to stewards / police? (Find it a little hard to believe given our experiences at Yeovil)

@joelstern: The stewards heard and spoke to them but didn’t take any other action. Not that hard to believe, once you scratch beneath the surface there’s always a few with those kind of views sadly 🙄

@Dave_Hughes: We need them banned, there’s no place for York fans like that. He

@hchie79: Let’s get these idiots identified and banned. Plenty of clear shots of the away end from yesterday. #ycfc

@LSissoYCFC: It was David and Pete Dicks, clues in the name’s unfortunately, also enjoy abusing the local kids on away days as well as there own fans, such a pleasant pair

@YCFC_Coops: I was towards the front and didn’t hear anything. There were 3 or 4 police officers in that void throughout the game. Did you not think to report to them rather than stewards?

@_morgan_bruce: Hope they’re found and banned for life. Homophobia and racism do not represent york city

@paulwood72: Post picture and then name and shame, we don’t want these types in the YCFC family

@Hendoo1998: As a androgynous male, I feel deeply saddened and desolate with the remarks of some of our “fans”. This needs to stop immediately. #saynotoracism #kickitout

@_jpmh_: Despite the (fully justified) howling outrage at Yeovil, being realistic you’d be amazed if there were any clubs with literally none of these types among their support. Doesnt make it any less disappointing to read about it at #ycfc tho. How do we eradicate this from the game?

@SamDaly75982661: We can’t be going after the weirdos in devon without the same stance against these idiots – find them and ban them!!! #ycfc

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