It has been brought to our attention that there have been some recent isolated incidents of racial abuse by a small minority of Rotherham United supporters at both home and away matches.
The club has now decided to take extra measures in identifying anyone responsible for this type of behaviour and this will apply to both home and away matches. Anyone proven to have used racially abusive language will receive a lifetime ban from Rotherham United and we will provide any assistance necessary to South Yorkshire Police to assist them in securing criminal convictions. For away matches we will contact the opposing club and agree what measures are required as well as provide them with any relevant intelligence that we feel is necessary.
We would like to remind supporters that incidents can be reported via ‘Kick it Out’ or at home games, reports can be made anonymously by texting 07507 449121. This number is also displayed on the big screen, website and match day programme at The AESSEAL New York Stadium. Supporters can also report using the Kick it Out app. We would welcome as much information as possible stating the stand, row, seat and description of the person as well as the comments that they have made.
At away games, most clubs have a similar facilities to ours and contact details can be found in the same locations as mentioned above.
Supporters can also report incidents to stewards or club officials who should then report that to their supervisor and ultimately feed that back to the control room.
It is always easier for clubs to deal with incidents on the day and so whilst it is helpful to receive information during the week, it is far more effective for us to receive information on the matchday where we can identify these individuals far more easily and ultimately hand them over to the Police to be arrested.
We welcome the co-operation of all of our supporters in assisting us to eradicate this problem and we know the majority will be appalled by the actions of a few individuals who we do not want following our club.