It is 2020 and football matches are getting abandoned for racist abuse

Alleged acts of racism has reared its ugly head with two shocking incidents in seven days at two Kent football grounds.

 

Sevenoaks Town were leading CB Hounslow United 3-0 in their FA Cup Preliminary Round tie on 12 September, but the game was abandoned due to an alleged act of racism from the crowd.

A FA statement said: “We were made aware of allegations of discrimination from an areas in the crowd towards a player during the FA Cup Preliminary Round fixture between Sevenoaks Town and CB Hounslow United, which resulted in the fixture being abandoned.

“The matter was investigated by The FA, including a review of match reports, observations, statements and match footage and we can now confirm that Sevenoaks Town will not be subject to any FA disciplinary action.

“We have established that the club and the matchday officials took the appropriate steps, as per the required protocol, when informed of the alleged abuse.

“However, we will continue to work with the clubs to establish if there is any additional evidence in relation to the alleged incident.

“The FA takes all the allegations of discrimination extremely seriously and we would like to thank both teams for bringing this to our attention and for their full co-operation throughout.”

Micky Collins’ side advance to the First Qualifying Round and play a local derby at Corinthian this evening.

Chatham Town hosted Chislehurst-based side Glebe in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division on Saturday.

The game was abandoned at half-time with hosts Chatham Town leading 2-1 due to a member of Glebe’s management team being the victim of alleged abuse.

Glebe chairman Rocky McMillan said on Twitter: “Just to confirm there was an alleged extreme racist comment made towards a member of my first-team management in our match on Saturday afternoon.

“We will be passing our evidence to the authorities. There will be no further comment until the case is heard.”

Glebe striker, Charlie MacDonald, 39, who has played in higher levels of football during his glittery career, posted on Twitter “I cannot believe that racism is still happening so freely in today’s society.

“In all my years of football I have never been involved in a match that has had a racist incident.

“As a team we stood together and refused to carry on playing. Let’s hope it’s dealt with correctly.” 

A statement from Chatham Town was published on Monday.

“Following our fixture against Glebe on Saturday, we can confirm that allegations were made during the first half that lead to the game being abandoned as the teams looked to commence the second half.

“It is important to state that, at this stage, these alleged incidents are unsubstantiated and will be subject to a full investigation by The FA.

“Chatham Town will be working with the authorities and will be submitting video evidence from both footage taken where the alleged incident took place and all the events leading up to the game being abandoned.

“Chatham Town will not tolerate any abuse of any nature and we will continue to work closely with the relevant bodies to ensure that our ground is a safe and welcoming environment for all supporters, staff and players.

“No further statements will be made by the club on this incident until all investigations have been completed by the appropriate authorities.”

Reflecting on the news, Owen Price, the assistant manager at league rivals Erith & Belvedere, said on Twitter: “It is 2020 and football matches are getting abandoned for racist abuse.  Please just take that in.

“I am stuck between being angry, sad and happy that people are no longer accepting it but we are still a long, long way off.”