Kick It Out call for action after Manchester United players abused during derby victory
Manchester United’s derby victory over fierce rivals City was marred by crowd trouble at the Etihad Stadium.
The Red Devils beat their neighbours 2-1 in a thrilling encounter, thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial before Nicolas Otamendi scored a consolation.
But United midfielder Fred was subjected to both missiles and apparent racist abuse in the 67th minute of the match, when he went to take a corner kick.
A supporter appeared to make a monkey gesture towards one of the nearby United players, an incident the PA news agency said both clubs have been made aware of.
A Manchester City statement, via AP’s Global Sports Correspondent Rob Harris, said: Manchester City FC are aware of a video circulating on social media which appears to show a supporter making racial gestures during the second half of the match against Manchester United this evening.
Officials from the Club are working with Greater Manchester Police in order to help them identify any individuals concerned and assist with their enquiries.
The Club are also working with GMP regarding an instance of objects being thrown onto the field of play.
The Club operates a zero tolerance policy regarding discrimination of any kind, and anyone found guilty of racial abuse will be banned from the club for life.
That occurred during a fiery period as tempers boiled over in the stands, with further reports of missiles being thrown.
English football’s equality and inclusion organisation Kick It Out said in a statement: “We have been inundated with reports of alleged racist abuse from a number of individuals during this evening’s Manchester derby.
“We will be contacting both clubs to offer our support and hope swift action is taken to identify the offenders.”
With PA:Media.
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