A person was removed from a Mayo Football League match on Sunday after directing verbal abuse at a player.
That was confirmed by Ballina Town FC in a statement on social media.
The incident occurred just before half time in their Super League game against Claremorris.
A sinister comment was directed at one of the Ballina players by a spectator.
The game was stopped and the person was removed from the grounds.
Both management and player were spoken to by the referee and it was dealt with great protection around the player.
In their statement Ballina Town said that they ‘have a zero tolerance towards racism and we are deeply very saddened today that one of our players had to experience this whilst playing for our club.’
They continued to say ‘Our continued aim is to eradicate racism in football by ensuring no barriers exist to anyone enjoying our sport – whatever their ethnic background. We are all in this together.’
They also welcomed a statement made by Claremorris FC which reads:
‘Claremorris AFC will not tolerate harassment, bullying, abuse or victimisation of an individual on racial grounds, whether physical or verbal.
We continuously work to ensure that such behaviour is met with appropriate action in whatever context it occurs.’
