Racist abuse claims in Championship being investigated, more abuse on social media surfaces

Two incidents of alleged racist abuse in two separate Championship games on Saturday are being investigated.

A Brentford season-ticket holder was arrested in the aftermath on their 3-3 draw with Derby after Rams manager Frank Lampard said midfielder Duane Holmes was abused in the dugout.

Bristol City defender Nathan Byrne was also the victim of racist abuse from a Wigan fan on Twitter following their 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Wigan said they are “angered” by the racist message and have reported it to the police.

A statement released by the EFL condemned the abuse.

“It was exceptionally disappointing that this happened as clubs up and down the country were raising awareness of such issues as part of Kick It Out’s Week of Action.

“We remain fully committed to continuing to work alongside the Football Association and Premier League as well as other relevant parties to ensure that football provides a welcoming environment from supporters attending matches and those participating in them.

“We cannot, and will not, accept this type of behaviour inside our stadiums, as we know our clubs won’t.”

Another incident of racist abuse also occurred in the Premier League. Wilfried Zaha retweeted a messaged that called him a ‘diving monkey’.

There were also several tweets using racist language to describe Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.

League Two outfit Northampton Town also condemned racism when they retweeted a tweet from Timi Elsnik, who is on loan from Derby,  who claimed his team-mates were racially abused outside a hotel in Nottingham.