Bracknell Town FC and Banbury United FC: Racist abuse investigated
- Published
Bracknell Town FC and Banbury United FC faced off in a FA Cup tie
Police are investigating racist abuse at an FA Cup tie, which also saw a female member of staff getting spat at.
The match between Bracknell Town FC and Banbury United FC was held at Bottom Meadow in Sandhurst on Saturday.
A member of the public, a staff member and Bracknell player Anthony Cheshire are believed to have been targeted with racial slurs.
Both clubs have condemned the behaviour at the fourth qualifying round tie, which ended in a 2-1 win for Bracknell.
Thames Valley Police is investigating:
A racially aggravated assault against a member of Bracknell Town FC staff
A racially aggravated public order offence against a member of the public
A racially aggravated public order offence against a Bracknell Town FC player
Police said during the assault against the staff member, it was reported someone in the crowd spat in her face.
PC Steve Mountain said the force was conducting a "thorough investigation" and consulting both clubs, match officials and those who were targeted.
He urged any witnesses or anyone with footage to come forward.
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Kayne Steinborn-Busse, owner of Bracknell Town FC, said: "Unfortunately a small number of Banbury United fans deemed it acceptable to hurl racial slurs at our players and staff, which we find extremely disturbing and offensive.
"This language and conduct has no place in our sport or society and must be eliminated.
"We will coordinate with the police and the FA to identify each individual supporter behind the goal."
In a statement, Banbury's board of directors said: "As a club we will not tolerate racism, it has no place in society and we apologise to Bracknell and Anthony Cheshire for any racist comments that were made.
"Individuals should not be subjected to this. Anyone identified as having made such comments will be banned by the club."
Afterwards Mr Cheshire tweeted that he was feeling "confused, angry and upset".
"I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that consoled and supported me yesterday," he added.
"Football is an inclusive game, and everyone should feel safe playing it."
PC Mountain said offenders would be prosecuted and given football banning orders.
Bans prevent people attending matches for three years, and forces them to surrender their passport when England play abroad.
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- Published29 August 2022
