TWO arrests have been made following allegations of racist abuse directed at Haringey Borough players in the FA Cup fourth round. Yeovil fans have been accused of racially abusing Haringey goalkeeper Valery Pajetat and defender Coby Rowe, sparking a mass walk-off by the home team. It is the first time action has been taken in […]
TWO arrests have been made following allegations of racist abuse directed at Haringey Borough players in the FA Cup fourth round.
Yeovil fans have been accused of racially abusing Haringey goalkeeper Valery Pajetat and defender Coby Rowe, sparking a mass walk-off by the home team.
It is the first time action has been taken in British football for racist abuse.
Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement that arrests were made on Monday morning in the West Country with assistance Somerset Police.
They said: “Two men have been arrested this morning following an investigation into reports of racist comments made during a match between Haringey Borough FC and Yeovil Town on Saturday, October 19.
“The men — aged 23 and 26 — were arrested in Chard and Yeovil on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault.
“They are both in custody at a police station in Somerset.
“Officers from the Met are leading the investigation with the assistance of Avon and Somerset police.”
The Football Association promising to investigate ‘as a matter of urgency’, with the incident coming less than a week after England trio Raheem Sterling, Tyrone Mings and Marcus Rashford were abused in Bulgaria.
At Coles Park, bottles were allegedly also thrown from the away end and Pajetat accused fans of spitting on him as tempers flared after Yeovil were handed a penalty.
Haringey boss Tom Loizou said after the match: “If we get punished and thrown out, I don’t care. The abuse a few of my players got was disgusting.
“Yeovil’s players and manager were different class. Their team tried to calm their supporters down, they tried their best and they supported us – they said ‘if you’re walking off we’re walking off with you’.
“I took the decision to take my team off and I don’t want Yeovil Town to get punished for it. If we get thrown out of the FA Cup and they go through, there is no hard feelings there.
“I have not done it for any other reason than looking into my players’ faces and seeing how distraught they were. They are not used to this.”
