‘Racially abused’ – and then sent off!

A PLAYER claims he was sent off for complaining about alleged racial abuse by an opponent during a match which was abandoned at half-time as a moral protest.

Shirebrook’s Bruno Holden says he was told to “f**k off back to your own country” during the the December 17 Northern Counties East League game with Hall Road Rangers.

The experienced former Guiseley, Stamford, Belper and Lincoln United striker, born in Britain and whose mother hails from Lisbon, Portugal, was astonishingly then red carded by referee Mehdi Najefi for his response to the lack of action by the official.

He suggests the supposed racial abuse by the unnamed opponent happened within ear shot of the referee – and slammed the decision to punish him instead of the Hall Road player.

So angry were the Shirebrook players that they refused to appear for the second half in solidarity.

Although not confirmed, Holden says the referee attempted to bargain with the Shirebrook players to return in exchange for not putting his red card through to the county FA.

The 30-year-old forward told The NLP: “I felt it was right to make public what happened because this sort of abuse has no place in football – and neither does what happened after those words were said.

“It’s unacceptable to tell people to f**k off back to their own country just because their skin is a little different. I walked off so I could be substituted, he called me back, and then sent me off as I didn’t agree with what he was saying.

“In my opinion the referee should have taken action there but he chose not to. He then punished me because of my complaints – it’s not good enough.

“My team-mates heard it and were as shocked as I am. Despite the referee’s attempts to get the game played they refused to come back onto the pitch after half-time which shows you the strength of the feeling about what happened.

“I can take banter, I’m all for the lighter side of football, but not this type of behaviour.”

Holden is two matches into a three-game suspension and added: “It sends out all the wrong messages. The lads weren’t willing to risk losing a game because one of our players was racially abused. It was a point of principle.”

The Football Association are investigating.