SHOTS WILL ACT ON RACISM ROW
ALDERSHOT TOWN chairman Shahid Azeem says any form of racism from the terraces will “not be tolerated and dealt with extremely seriously” in the wake of an accusation from Ebbsfleet United’s Ebou Adams.
The Fleet midfielder alleges he was called a black **** during the first-half of his side’s 3-1 National League win last Saturday.
Adams reported the incident to referee Joe Hull and both managers were consulted before stewards stepped in to remove the suspect from the away end.
Since then, police have launched an investigation and have been working closely with officials of both clubs with a view to compiling a report. Azeem said he first became aware an incident had taken place when he saw a visibly-upset Adams wander over to the dugout area to speak to manager Daryl McMahon.
“At first I thought something had been thrown but shortly afterwards a steward told me what had happened,” the Shots chief told The NLP.
“We work very hard at our football club to protect our proud reputation and we take any form of misbe- haviour from our visiting supporters very seriously. It is simply not tolerated.
“I asked to be kept informed of the situation so we, as a club, could make our own enquiries. I was told at the time that there was no evidence, no statement made and no charges brought and, as far as we are concerned, that has not changed.
Misbehaved
“If any of our supporters have been found to have misbehaved then of course we will act appropriately, but until we hear back from the reports or evidence from the police then we can’t make any further comment.”
Adams has since spoken to Kent Online about the incident and thanked referee Hull and both clubs for how they dealt with the situation.
Adams said: “It was quite late in the first half. We were dominating the game at the time and a cross came in from Mags (Sam Magri) and it was Dave Winfield’s header, a great save from the keeper and I’ve tried to follow up.
“As he’s tipped it over the crossbar, I’ve run into the net thinking he’ll parry it to me and as I ran into the net, I looked into the crowd. I’ve got the whole crowd shouting at me, using aggressive language but I didn’t take any notice of it because I’m used to that. As I was about to turn away, I heard those words ‘you black **** ’ and I pointed it out, looked at the character and reported it straight to the referee. The way the referee handled it was very good and I appreciated that from him.”
He added: “When I first heard it, I thought straight away, tell the referee so he’s aware of it.
“Like I said, the way he dealt with it was really good and their players came up to me as well and said sorry on behalf of the club, and the manager as well, which was really pleasing and helped me ease myself at the same time.”