Appeal after racial abuse report at Bristol Rovers v Cheltenham Town
An investigation is underway after we received a report of a Bristol Rovers player being racially abused at the weekend.
The matter was reported to one of our officers by a steward during the second half of Rovers’ home League One match with Cheltenham Town on Saturday 9 December.
Two men who had been among away supporters on The Memorial Stadium’s East Terrace were subsequently ejected from the ground by stewards.
Force football officer PC Mark Neal said: “There is no place in society for racial abuse or discrimination. We are treating the incident as a hate crime and we’ll work with both clubs to fully investigate what happened.
“The player was spoken to by an officer immediately after Saturday’s game. We have also notified the Professional Footballers’ Association too.
“We’d ask anyone with information about what was said or who was responsible to please come forward.”
Anyone who saw or heard anything which could help is asked to call 101 and provide the call handler with the reference 5223300697.
If you can help, please call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5223300697, or complete our online appeals form.
You can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100 per cent anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their Anonymous Online Form.
No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded and you will not go to court or have to speak to police when contacting Crimestoppers.