MILLWALL have confirmed they are working with police to identify a fan accused of racially abusing a Barnsley player on Saturday.
The incident occurred immediately after Barnsley’s Patrick Schmidt scored a 94th minute winner at The Den, nine minutes after Millwall’s Aiden O’Brien had levelled the scores at 1-1.
Millwall are working with police to identify a fan accused of racially abusing a Barnsley playerCredit: Getty
The Londoners say they will hand a lifetime ban to anyone found guilty of racist abuse.
And they are conducting an investigation alongside the Met to get to the bottom of the accusations.
A statement confirmed: “Millwall and its security team are working with The Metropolitan Police and Barnsley to identify a supporter accused of racially abusing a visiting player in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s game between the two sides at The Den.
“The matter will be investigated by the police and the club will co-operate fully.
“Any individual found guilty of racist abuse at The Den is immediately issued with a lifetime ban and also offered the opportunity to attend Millwall’s ‘Fan Diversity Scheme’.
“The club has a zero-tolerance policy against discriminatory behaviour of any kind, highlighted by its ‘Hear Hate? Don’t Hestitate’ campaign and complete support of all other similar initiatives.”
Barnsley have also indicated their awareness of the alleged incident and have said they will work together with Millwall to identify the culprit.
A Barnsley statement read: “Barnsley Football Club and Millwall Football Club are working together, along with The Metropolitan Police to identify a supporter who is accused of racial abuse.
“Millwall Football Club have fully cooperated with Barnsley Football Club on this matter and dealt with the allegation in a thorough manner.
“We have no doubt as a club, that the staff at The Den are treating this incident with the severity that is required.”
The incident came after Schmidt’s dramatlc added time winner hoisted battling Barnsley off the foot of the table for the first time in 11 weeks..
The Tykes have now taken seven points from the last nine as Austrian coach Gerhard Struber’s revival takes shape.
But Gary Rowett’s unbeaten run at The Den came to and end as his side slumped to their first defeat in eight games.
It looked Lions’ sub Aiden O’Brien had rescued a point in the 85th minute when he dived bravely to head home after fellow sub Matt Smith headed into a goalmouth scramble.
But 21-year-old Austrian Schmidt scored with a powerful 15-yard header from Luke Thomas’s right-wing cross.
Conor Chaplin fired Barnsley in front with their first chance in the 39th minute – and they made a huge improvement after the break.
Police investigate after video appears to show cop throw punch at fan after Millwall clash with Leeds
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
