Reid slams Blackburn fans for Yorke racial abuse

REPUBLIC of Ireland international Steven Reid has condemned the Blackburn Rovers supporters who racially abused former team mate Dwight Yorke on Sunday.

But he stressed he had never been subjected to such treatment in his professional career.

Lancashire Police have launched a criminal investigation into allegations the Birmingham striker was racially abused during the match. Yorke confronted a fan he claimed was taunting him as he warmed up on the sideline.

“I spoke to Dwight after the game and he was pretty upset at the abuse he suffered both verbally and through gestures - and I don’t blame him,” Reid said.

“It’s really disappointing to see that kind of behaviour from people at Ewood Park, especially so soon after the disgraceful scenes which ruined England’s friendly in Spain. We’re not used to seeing racism inside British football grounds - it really is rare these days - so I hope something is done to make sure those responsible for this attack are punished properly.

“I haven’t been on the wrong end of racial abuse inside football stadiums. I was a Millwall player too, whose fans have earned a bad reputation over the years, but they were as good as gold with me.

“I do remember a few visiting players getting a bit of stick with stupid comments from the fans down there, but in general the vast majority of fans in this country find racism appalling.

“The actions of the Spanish fans really made me angry because it was so vicious. If England’s fans had behaved that way, the FA would be in big trouble but it seems like some of the foreign countries get away with it.

“If Millwall’s fans had made those chants, can you imagine the uproar? It would be nice to see FIFA do something serious to stamp racism out of the game, not just in this country but all over the world.”

The FA and Premier League have released a joint statement describing the incident as “isolated” but coming so soon after the events in Madrid, it has thrust the issue of racism back onto the agenda.

The FA and Premier League’s statement read: “The FA and the Premier League welcome the swift action taken by Blackburn in launching an investigation into a reported instance of racist abuse aimed at Birmingham City’s Dwight Yorke at Ewood Park yesterday.

“We fully support Blackburn’s entirely appropriate reaction to this incident and their involvement of the Lancashire Police who will ensure this matter is dealt with as the law demands.

“The FA, the Premier League and the Football League condemn racism in all its forms and are committed to stamping out any form of racist behaviour from football through our work with Kick It Out and numerous local campaigns. However this isolated incident is a reminder of the need for continued vigilance.”

One fan was ejected from the ground and police have now started criminal proceedings.

Police interviewed Blackburn’s safety officers and studied CCTV and video footage of an incident involving a spectator and Yorke.

A club statement said: “We would like to stress this was an isolated incident and we deeply regret any embarrassment caused to Dwight Yorke and Birmingham City FC.

“We want to be quite clear racism will not be tolerated at Ewood Park.”

Birmingham’s chief executive Karren Brady said the abuse was “incredibly upsetting” for Yorke but the club’s plc chairman David Sullivan said it had been “blown out of all proportion”.

Brady said: “It was a small minority but, regardless of how small it is, it is incredibly upsetting for a player and something needs to be done about it.

“We’ve just got to wait and see what this investigation throws up.”

Sullivan, making it clear his view was a personal one, said: “It is not the crime of the century. To me, it’s all been blown out of all proportion.

“I heard absolutely nothing. If it’s three out of 22,000 who make racist comments then it’s not very nice.

“I think you have to pick up on it and ban those people from the ground but I just can’t believe, with all that is going on in the world, that it’s that big a deal,” Sullivan said.

“It was only when he was warming up. He could have run up the other end of the ground. Most of the comments were ‘you lazy b******’ not a racial comment but lazy, lazy, lazy was the bulk of the chanting.”