Notts County have given handed a lifetime ban to the man who made a racially aggravated comment towards Barnet player Rob Hall in last night’s National League fixture at Meadow Lane.
The incident, which occurred in the 41st minute, was reported by the midfielder to the match officials who halted play to inform both managers and the senior tunnel steward.
In a club statement, Notts said: “Additional stewards were immediately deployed to the area from which the comment was made and the offender was quickly identified by a number of home supporters. He was then removed from the crowd by stewards, to whom he admitted making the comment.
“The man’s details were taken and verified by the club’s safety officer and immediately passed to police. He handed himself in to police a short time later and was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
“Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed that investigations are ongoing with a view to achieving a community resolution which will recognise the severity of the behaviour by the individual and educate the offender.
“Notts County, meanwhile, have banned the man from attending their future matches.”
Notts’ chief executive Jason Turner said: “On behalf of the club I would like to thank the many supporters who helped us quickly identify this individual, along with our safety team and stewards for their prompt and professional handling of the situation.
“Our records suggest the man is not a regular attendee at our matches and we are pleased that this isolated incident has been dealt with swiftly.
“The actions we have taken demonstrate our zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination and, while reports of these incidents are incredibly rare at Meadow Lane, we would encourage all supporters to report any comments or behaviours of concern at future matches to their nearest steward as quickly as possible.
“We also offer an anonymous matchday text message service, details of which are shared on our scoreboards and via our PA system at every home match.”
Barnet said in a statement: “We would like to thank Nottinghamshire Police and Notts County for their handling of the incident thus far and also extend our thanks to the Notts County players, staff and fans who offered their support.”
“The Club has today been in contact with Kick It Out regarding the incident and has also reached out to Rob to ensure he is ok. We are here to fully support Rob and any of our players and staff affected by the incident.”
