Droitwich Spa and Wednesfield FC Football match abandoned after 'racial remarks' from spectators
Football players walked off the pitch at the weekend amid reports of spectators racially abusing their teammates.
A Midland Football League Division One match played between Droitwich Spa FC and Wednesfield FC was called off in the 80th minute on Saturday following the incident.
It is reported that spectators allegedly directed “racial remarks” towards Wednesfield’s players in the dugout.
A statement by Wednesfield football club posted on Twitter, now known as X, said the team “do not condone this behaviour and made a stand against it” by deciding to walk off the pitch after notifying officials, but added that they were “booed” as they did so.
The statement reads: “This has no place and cannot be tolerated in any walk of life, let alone in sport.”
Droitwich Spa FC’s board of directors has issued an apology to their opponents, saying they “condemn all forms of discrimination” and will “deal with individuals concerned in the strongest possible manner”.
Their statement reads: “(We) would like to firmly reiterate our zero tolerance policy towards racism or discrimination of any kind.
“As a club we support positive action to highlight unacceptable behaviour.
“No one should be subjected to abuse whilst playing football and any form of discrimination or racial abuse is completely unacceptable.
“We unreservedly apologise to the Wednesfield FC player the comment was directed at.
“Players, coaches, match officials and volunteers deserve to feel safe on the field of play, and around the football ground.
"Safe from physical attack, but also safe from abusive and discriminatory comments that cannot be tolerated.
“Attending matches does not give the right to direct abuse that would not be acceptable in any other environment.
“This needs to be dealt with at Droitwich Spa FC and across football.
“We cannot allow incidents and circumstances like those witnessed yesterday to be repeated which negatively affects our own players, staff and volunteers, and that of our visitors.”
West Mercia Police said that the incident has not been reported to the force.