Steve Bruce Newcastle
Newcastle United have confirmed that the club are aware of an alleged racist incident made by an individual towards Tottenham Hotspur supporters inside St. James’ Park on Sunday.
A statement from the club’s website read: “Newcastle United will pursue the strongest possible action against anyone involved in discriminatory behaviour and will support any efforts by the authorities to secure a criminal conviction. The club is adhering to the Premier League commitment regarding Abusive and Discriminatory conduct, which facilitates the banning of any fan found to have been involved in abusive and/or discriminatory conduct from all Premier League stadia. For this alleged incident to take place at a time when all Premier League clubs are visibly supporting the No Room For Racism campaign shows the work we all have ahead of us, to which we remain absolutely committed. If you see discrimination, challenge it, report it, change it. There is no place for abusive or discriminatory conduct anywhere in football; we are United as One. To report discriminatory behaviour at St. James’ Park, please text HELP followed by your seat location and details of the incident to 60070.”
The club continued by confirming that Northumbria Police are investigating the alleged incident.
A spokesperson for the constabulary said: “We can confirm we are investigating an alleged racist incident during Newcastle United’s home fixture with Tottenham at St. James’ Park on Sunday. Enquiries are ongoing with the club to identify anyone involved and ascertain whether criminal offences have been committed. As a Force, we do not tolerate hate crime of any kind within our communities and are committed to taking swift and robust action against perpetrators.”
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs side ended up 3-2 victors on the day thanks to goals from Tanguy Ndombele, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane. But the game was dominated by two incidents that happened off the field – including this. In another incident, an elderly gentleman collapsed in the crowd, but thankfully, because of the response from crowd members, players and medical teams, he left the stadium conscious and is recovering well.
