Man banned for racially abusing Bristol Rovers' owner

Bristol Rovers president Wael al-Qadi was targeted by an anonymous Twitter account

A man who racially abused Bristol Rovers' owner Wael Al-Qadi has been banned from matches for 16 weeks.

The man in his 30s from Kingswood used an anonymous Twitter account to target Mr Al-Qadi after Rovers' 1-1 draw against 10-man Barrow in August.

He was later tracked down and admitted he was behind the now-deleted tweet.

Police have not released his name but he was given a conditional caution and must also attend a hate crime awareness course.

During the 16-week period he is also banned from any England international football games and cannot be in the area surroundings games for a certain time window either side of a match.

'Family club'

Bristol Rovers CEO, Tom Gorringe said that Rovers was a "family club and abuse of any kind will not be tolerated".

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He said: "The vast majority of our supporters are positive and supportive, but anyone found to be acting in a discriminatory manner, will face the appropriate sanctions and will not be welcome here at The Mem."

Mr Gorringe added that "social media abuse is a national problem and not one confined just to our club or sport".

He said he was glad there had been "positive action" in this case which "hopefully will help tackle the issue and raise awareness of the affects of what is said online".

The man admitted sending the tweet to in a police interview last week

Avon and Somerset Police started an investigation shortly after the tweet was posted.

It worked alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and the English Football League to identify the man.

He admitted sending the message during a voluntary police interview in December.

'Vile and offensive'

Dedicated football officer PC Mark Neal said there "can be no excuse for sending vile and offensive messages".

He added: "There is absolutely no place in our society for racism.

"This was a hate crime. Nobody should be forced to endure such abuse."

The force has thanked Rovers and Mr Al-Qadi for their help in the investigation.