TEAM’S RACISM CLAIMS

Manager of Peterborough football team says squads face abuse ‘every other week’

The manager of a Peterborough football team has hit out at racist abuse aimed at players - including junior squads.

Players turning out for FC Peterborough have been subjected to a range of abuse, even by parents at an under-10 match.

First team manager and head of football operations Imtiaz Ali said: “Every other week, one of our 11/12 teams reports an incident of racial abuse. Most teams are good and most matches pass without a problem, but it’s still happening far too often.

“We submit regular reports to county FAs and leagues, but we don’t see any action being taken to make it stop. We have reported the problems to the national FA, but they automatically kick it back to the county FAs. To date we feel like we’ve been let down by the junior and adult leagues and by the FAs.”

Mr Ali said incidents of abuse included: An under- 11 match when opposition players mimicked planes being crashed into buildings in an apparent reference to the 9/11 bombings; An under-10 match when an FC Peterborough player was punched by an opposition team player which led to a red card. The referee, the FC Peterborough players and parents were then abused by parents from the opposition club; One FC Peterborough junior side being described as ‘a pack of dogs’; and adult players suffering comments such as ‘we will deport all of you’, ‘you all look the same’, ‘have you been eating curry?’ followed by an abusive term.

Northants FA chief executive Gary Biddulph said: “Northamptonshire FA have asked our own Inclusion Advisory Group Chairman to liaise and to provide support, assurance and assistance to FC Peterborough in combating discrimination in football.”

Peterborough League secretary Wendy Newey said: “As a league we are appalled to hear such comments and we take them very seriously, but reports of this nature are passed automatically to the relevant county FA.”

A Peterborough & District Junior Alliance spokesperson said: “We take all complaints very seriously and we pass them immediately to the FA when appropriate. We are a ‘Respect’ League and take our commitments very seriously.”

A ‘Respect’ League is an national FA initiative designed to supply a safe environment to play football.

‘Every other week, one of our teams reports an incident of racial abuse’ FC Peterborough manager Imtiaz Ali

The FC Peterborough first team squad earlier this season. Imitiaz Ali is far right of the back row