All eyes on Sheffield United’s next pre-season friendly after alleged racist incident leaves club “horrified”
All eyes on Sheffield United’s next pre-season friendly after alleged racist incident leaves club “horrified”
More eyes than usual will be on Sheffield United’s first pre-season friendly next week after their opponents became embroiled in an alleged racism row. The Blades kick off their warm-up campaign away at York City on Tuesday evening.
And the National League side will go into that game on the back of controversy after their friendly against Salford City last night [Friday] was abandoned near the end after an allegation of racist abuse towards a Salford player. Both teams were taken off the pitch with six minutes to go, and the game was officially abandoned soon after.
The alleged incident is now being investigated by both City and North Yorkshire Police, with a 23-year-old man from York arrested in connection with the incident.BBC Radio York's David Ward said that the incident “happened in the 85th minute when a Salford City player was being substituted, and lasted a number of seconds,"
"Noises seemed to be made towards the away dugout which led to the player trying to enter the stand to confront the spectator. He [the fan] then got up of his free-will and made his way towards stewards at the bottom of the stand and was led out of the ground."
A York club statement described themselves as “horrified to learn of allegations of racial abuse aimed at Salford City players in this evening’s pre-season match,” adding: “Both clubs, alongside the match officials, decided to take both teams off the pitch at that time.
“York City condemns racism in all forms. We stand with Salford in condemning this behaviour in the strongest possible terms. The club is now working with North Yorkshire Police to investigate the allegations.
“Any spectators who may have witnessed tonight’s events should contact North Yorkshire Police or York City Football Club as soon as possible. Any supporter found guilty of racial abuse will face the strongest possible sanctions from the club. We would like to thank Salford City for their cooperation in what has been a deeply distressing evening.”
All eyes on Sheffield United’s next pre-season friendly after alleged racist incident leaves club “horrified”
A statement from Salford added: "Salford City condemns racism in all forms, will always protect and defend its players and staff from any form of behaviour of this kind, and condemns this evening's behaviour in the strongest possible terms. We would like to thank York City for its swift response to this incident."
The Blades travel to York to begin their domestic pre-season campaign after returning home from a week-long training camp in Girona this weekend. They also face local opposition including Chesterfield, Rotherham United and Burton Albion and are trying to add at least one friendly to their schedule, with a warm-up game against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr a possibility before the Championship season kicks off next month.