FA Cup tie abandoned following racial abuse by fans
What's the story
A qualifying tie of FA Cup between Haringey Borough and Yeovil Town was abandoned on Saturday after the fans of Yeovil racially abused footballers. The players of hosts Haringey, who play in the seventh tier of English football, were abused, while a player was also spat upon. The play was called off 25 minutes prior to the final whistle. Here's more.
Abused
Haringey defender and goalkeeper racially abused
Haringey manager Tom Loizou claimed that their defender Coby Rowe was racially abused by some Yeovil fans, while their goalkeeper from Cameroon, Douglas Pajetat, was also spat upon. "Early into the second half, we got a corner and a couple of the players said to me there were monkey chants. We got over that, we carried on playing," said Loizou.
Information
Loizo disgusted by the behavior
"They got a penalty and my goalkeeper was spat at. The referee halted the game briefly, they scored the penalty, one of the players went to pick the ball out of the back of the net and Coby Rowe was racially abused," added Loizou.
Call off
Loizou called off his players citing unacceptable crowd behavior
Loizou further said that some of the players looked devastated following the abuses as he himself was distraught, forcing him to call off his players. "There was no way that two or three of those players could have continued playing. What they heard was disgusting, they looked frightened. I can't sit down and watch young players being abused by a minority," Loizou further added.
Twitter Post
Rowe shocked following the incident
Can’t believe I’m tweeting this and it’s 2019 but today I was a victim of racism , in what was supposed to be a great day for @HaringeyBoroFC
— coby rowe (@cobyrowe) October 19, 2019
another game of football ruined by racists.
Thanks to @YTFC players and staff who backed our decision to leave the pitch.@kickitout pic.twitter.com/yxijG1F194
Yeovil's statement
Club will not accept racism or discrimination: Yeovil
Following the incident, Yeovil released a statement that they were well aware of the fact that the crowd during the match was unruly and promised to conduct a stern investigation into the matter. "Irrespective of the outcome of any investigations, we would like to make it clear that the club will not accept racism or discrimination in any form," said Yeovil in a statement.
KIO reacts
'Kick It Out' praises swift decision
Following the incident, the anti-racism group Kick It Out expressed their concern about the incident, besides praising the swift action taken by the club to call off his players before the incident could have become uglier. "Kick It Out has informed The FA and will support the club in identifying the offender(s) to ensure appropriate action is taken and strong punishment issued," tweeted KIO.
Twitter Post
KIO reminds of the England-Bulgaria Euro 2020 qualifier incident
The Haringey manager and players took swift and decisive action as a result of the abuse, similar to that taken by the England team out in Bulgaria just five days ago.
— Kick It Out (@kickitout) October 19, 2019
Euro qualifiers incident
English players abused during Euro 2020 qualifiers in Bulgaria
The incident comes following the unruly incident that happened during the Euro 2020 qualifiers last week between England and Bulgaria, as the English players were abused by the Bulgarian fans. The play was halted twice in the first half, with the match seemingly set to be abandoned. However, England proceeded with the match and win 6-0 after the section was ejected out.