Haringey Borough players left ‘distraught’ after alleged racist abuse saw team walk off in FA Cup as Met launch probe
HARINGEY BOROUGH players were left “distraught” by the alleged racist abuse that led to Saturday’s FA Cup qualifier being abandoned. Yeovil fans behind the goal at Coles Park are said to have hurled insults, spat at and thrown objects at goalkeeper Valery Douglas Pajetat after he faced a penalty. The incident escalated further as Coby […]
HARINGEY BOROUGH players were left “distraught” by the alleged racist abuse that led to Saturday’s FA Cup qualifier being abandoned.
Yeovil fans behind the goal at Coles Park are said to have hurled insults, spat at and thrown objects at goalkeeper Valery Douglas Pajetat after he faced a penalty.
The incident escalated further as Coby Rowe was also allegedly racially abused by National League Yeovil supporters.
That prompted the Isthmian League Premier Division team to walk off and abandon the game.
Metropolitan Police have since opened an investigation but no arrests have been made.
And anyone with information or video footage of the episode are being asked to contact the authorities.
‘DISGUSTED’
Former Haringey defender Michael O’Donoghue was at the ground and visited his old team’s dressing room after the game was stopped, and spoke of the anger felt inside.
He told Press Association: “As soon as Yeovil were awarded their penalty you could see that something was going on between Valery and the Yeovil fans.
“This led to the referee trying to defuse the situation and a few Yeovil players going over to their fans to try to calm them down.
“It settled down a bit and the penalty was taken and scored. As soon as they scored it was starting to kick off again and you could see the Haringey players were getting abused and felt unsettled.
“The referee was seen removing the bottles thrown at the players and then the managers of both teams went on and escorted their teams off the pitch.
“I went into the changing room with the boys, the referee called in both captains and managers to have a talk about what to do next. The boys made a group decision to make a stand and not go back out to play.
“The officials and Yeovil manager came into the Haringey changing room and said they will back whatever decision the Haringey boys made, so that was class from them.
“The boys were disgusted and you could see a few were distraught from getting abused like that.”
Haringey defender Rowe thanked Yeovil’s staff and players for accepting their stance.
He wrote online: “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 Haringey, another game of football ruined by racists. Thanks to Yeovil players and staff who backed our decision to leave the pitch.”
Glovers boss Darren Sarll said after the game: “My head is in an absolute spin. I’ve gone through a situation I never hoped I’d go through.
“We, footballers and managers, get a lot of abuse but nobody should feel discriminated against when they come to play football. I feel we’ve done the right thing. I’m not going to feel anything other than proud for the way the players conducted themselves.”
The incident came on the same day allegations of racist abuse were made in the away end as Bristol City faced Luton in the Championship.
That is under investigation while many have drawn a comparison between the behaviour of English fans and the scenes in Eastern Europe when the national team faced Bulgaria.
Still so proud of the decision we took on a day we won’t forget for a long time. Let this be the lasting image of the day. @HaringeyBoroFC & @YTFC players & staff standing together in solidarity against racism.
pic.twitter.com/Fj73vruxLX
— Joe Husson (@Joe_Husson) October 20, 2019
More of this
https://t.co/GAjJWibaRf
— Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) October 19, 2019
Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings tweeted his support for Haringey on Saturday evening and was not alone in demanding more action across all footballing tiers.
He wrote: “Well done for taking a stance, sometimes it can get brushed off in lower leagues but everyone stands with you. Our country isn’t perfect either.”
And Kick It Out’s Troy Townsend tweeted: “What happened today is an absolute disgrace but NOT uncommon.”
The incident occurred after a penalty made it 1-0 to Yeovil in the 64th minute, although it was only taken after a long delay.
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Rhys Murphy’s goal was then followed by the reported abuse and, 35 minutes later, the game that was meant to be a proud day for minnows Haringey as they battled for a place in the FA Cup first round was called off.
The FA’s statement read: “We are deeply concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd towards a player during the FA Cup fourth round qualifying match between Haringey and Yeovil, which resulted in the fixture being abandoned.
“There is no room for discrimination in our game and we are working with the match officials and the relevant authorities, as a matter of urgency, to fully establish the facts and take the appropriate steps.”