Burnley Fans Reported for Racist Abuse More Than Any UK Club Since 2017/18
By 90min
Burnley fans were reported for alleged hate crimes, including racism, more than any other club in England and Wales over the past two seasons.
The issues of hate crimes have plagued English football in recent years, with numerous clubs all forced to address various allegations or abuse.
There is no room for racism. Anywhere.
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) August 10, 2019
On the pitch, in our stadiums. Anywhere.
The passion we share brings us together,
This is everyone's game.@premierleague #NoRoomforRacism @timessport pic.twitter.com/WBQfVaw22b
However, as noted by the Home Office (via PA), Burnley fans have been reported for more hate crimes than any other side, having been accused of a total of 17 counts of abuse since the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
15 of those allegations were based on racist abuse, while the two remaining cases were accusations of abuse relating to sexual orientation.
Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham were all reported for 13 different incidents. For United, nine were related to race, three were linked to sexual orientation and one to religion.
EXCLUSIVE: Burnley fans reported for hate crimes at football games more often than any other club in England or Wales over last two completed seasons, according to Home Office data pic.twitter.com/y6BE7rjmEW
— PA Dugout (@PAdugout) November 21, 2019
As for the Hammers, six of their reports concerned racial abuse, four related to religion and three to sexual orientation. Sunderland fans faced 12 allegations of racism - the second highest total in the UK - while there was also one incident of abuse related to sexual orientation.
The results also did not make for pretty reading for Chelsea, Leeds United and Leicester City, all of whom have faced ten reports of various hate crimes in the last two seasons.
For Chelsea, half of these incidents concerned religion, a further four were to do with race, and there was also an accusation of abuse related to sexual orientation.
We are proud to support the @PremierLeague’s No Room for Racism campaign, which will use the power and popularity of the competition to oppose racism in football.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 30, 2019
Read more on the initiative here: https://t.co/sr3d4gk5gY pic.twitter.com/xIIXiOkZ4I
Leeds supporters faced eight accusations of racist abuse, and their remaining two incidents concerned sexual orientation.
Abuse concerning sexual orientation was the biggest concern for Leicester, who faced no less than five allegations of such abuse - more than any of the sides involved in the report. The Foxes also had three allegations of racism and two incidents of abuse relating to religion.
Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out have worked tirelessly to aid the battle against all forms of hate crime, while the Premier League also recently unveiled their 'No Room for Racism' campaign.