Kettering urges supporters to act after alleged racist abuse of Redditch player

Kettering Town has called on supporters to help confront racism after Redditch United player Dan Sweeney said he was racially abused by a home fan during Saturday's match at Latimer Park. According to BBC Sport, the allegation arose during a Southern League Premier Division Central fixture that Kettering won 2-1, prompting a public response from the club's director of football, Fabian Forde.

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In a statement reported by the BBC, Forde rejected the idea that describing abusive supporters as a small minority was an adequate response. He said repeated attempts to distance the wider fanbase from such behaviour risked reducing the perceived seriousness of the harm. He also raised concerns about racism on supporters' online forums, making clear that his appeal extended beyond behaviour inside the ground on matchdays.

Forde urged fans to challenge racist posts and report abuse heard at matches to stewards, helping the club identify those involved. He said routine public statements were insufficient and asked supporters to take responsibility for changing the culture around the club. Kettering said it was working with its security team, stewards and relevant authorities to identify those responsible for the alleged incident.

Northamptonshire Police told the BBC that officers had not identified a report relating to Saturday's allegation. The force cautioned that a report might be awaiting allocation or could have been made to another police force. It said it would take responsibility if an allegation reported elsewhere concerned an offence committed in Northamptonshire, and encouraged anyone who believed they had been a victim of crime to contact police.

Redditch chairman David Faulkner welcomed Kettering's commitment to working with security staff and the authorities. In a statement cited by BBC Sport, he called for appropriate action to follow and stressed that tackling racism required leadership and accountability, not only public declarations. He also warned against allowing alleged incidents to be dismissed or forgotten after the initial attention had faded.

The BBC report placed the latest allegation alongside earlier concerns at Kettering: a match official reported alleged racial abuse at a fixture last season, while a Redditch player was allegedly targeted at Latimer Park in 2017. Those previous reports formed part of the context for Forde's demand for a broader response from supporters. BBC Sport said it had also approached the Football Association for comment.