19 March 2023 , 22:54
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Prince William has slammed racial abuse and threats aimed at kids playing in a junior football club.
The royal, who is president of the FA, said he is deeply concerned and those involved must be held accountable.
Alpha United Juniors first spoke out in November about the abuse.
They said kids as young as seven had been targeted.
And some have even suffered threats of violence.
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The incident happened at Alpha United JuniorsPrince William has written a letter to the club in Bradford, West Yorks, saying he has contacted the FA about the claims.
He wrote: “Racism and abuse has no place in our society. Abhorrent behaviour of this nature must stop now.”
Mohammed Waheed, who founded the award-winning club 10 years ago, told the Mirror that a player was called the n-word only yesterday.
Mr Waheed, 36, wrote to Kensington Palace in January claiming he had contacted the FA on multiple occasions.
The founder said that a player was called the n-word only yesterdayHe said the Prince then contacted the club last month, adding: “It was nice to hear. Knowing that he’s raised it.
“We’ve had 10 years of this, from the first match we played we saw racism.
“It was my under-14s team. We have had kids that have dropped out because of the abuse.”
Mr Waheed said attacks have risen since Brexit, adding: “You can’t abandon the game because you get fined by the FA..”
He said the club had reported up to 60 cases but has largely stopped now.
Mr Waheed urged the FA to change its procedures, adding: “This stuff affects you for life.”
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He said since going public on Sky he has been contacted “by 40 clubs”.
The West Riding FA said: “We require witnesses to engage with our judicial process. Despite our best efforts, the club did not support this process.”
West Riding FA said it is probing cases flagged by the club. But Alpha United Juniors dispute this, arguing it has provided evidence.
The club added parts of the process could compromise players’ anonymity.
The FA said last night: “We strongly condemn all forms of offensive and discriminatory behaviour and we are determined to stamp it out of our game.
“All allegations of this nature are taken extremely seriously and we would urge anybody who has been subject to, or a witness of, incidents to report it to The FA, their local County FA, or Kick It Out.”