EFL 'saddened' after spate of incidents of alleged racist abuse over weekend
A man is arrested after allegedly abusing a Derby County player, while Northampton players say they were abused near a hotel.
Sunday 7 April 2019 16:49, UK
The English Football League (EFL) has said it is "saddened, disappointed and angered" to hear of reports of alleged racism surrounding聽three matches on Saturday.
Players from Derby County, Wigan and Northampton Town suffered alleged racial abuse before and during EFL matches over the weekend.
"We cannot, and will not, accept this type of behaviour inside our stadiums, as we know our clubs won't," the league said.
Brentford have said they "utterly condemn discrimination" after a season-ticket holder was arrested following a claim of abuse by Derby midfielder Duane Holmes while the player was in the dugout during his team's 3-3 draw at Griffin Park.
Derby manager Frank Lampard, who was seen pointing at someone in the crowd, said after the game Holmes and other players reported the alleged abuse to him.
Sky Sports' pundit, Chris Kamara, who played for Brentford for four years in the 1980s, called racism in football "a disease that is starting to come back".
Northamptonshire Police is set to investigate after several Northampton Town players were allegedly racially abused by a man outside their team hotel on Saturday in Nottingham.
The force have said they will liaise with their colleagues in Nottinghamshire.
The League Two club said in a statement that "a number of the first team squad were racially abused ahead of Saturday's game at Notts County".
It added: "The incident occurred in Nottingham as the squad went on their normal pre-match walk from the team hotel before the game."
Midfielder Timi Elsnik confirmed in a tweet the incident had occurred, calling it "the most disgusting thing I've seen and heard".
He added: "He's done it in front of his girl as well with no shame so he must do it all the time. Absolute idiot."
Defender David Buchanan added: "Today I witnessed racial abuse to some of our players in the Village Hotel in Nottingham. Can't believe we still have scum like this in 2019. Credit to our boys who handled it impeccably."
Wigan have reported to police a sickening message on social media sent to Nathan Byrne after a match at Bristol City.
In a statement, the club said: "There is no place for discrimination in society and social media is not an exception to those rules. We find this behaviour abhorrent."
Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha called out an online message branding him "a diving monkey" after Saturday's Premier League match at Newcastle.
The original tweet has since been deleted.
The latest incidents came after the Tottenham defender Danny Rose said he "can't wait to see the back of football" due to the lack of action taken against racism, and Raheem Sterling urged authorities to take a "proper stance" against abuse.