Kettering urges supporters to report racism after Dan Sweeney allegation

Kettering Town has called on supporters to help identify and report racist abuse after Redditch United player Dan Sweeney said he was targeted by a home fan at Latimer Park. According to BBC Sport, the allegation relates to Saturday's Southern League Premier Division Central match, which Kettering won 2-1. The club's director of football, Fabian Forde, urged supporters to take responsibility for challenging racism.

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In a statement published on Kettering's website and reported by the BBC, Forde rejected the idea that describing offenders as a small minority was an adequate response. He said silence from other supporters allowed abusive behaviour to shape the club's reputation. His criticism extended beyond incidents at matches to racism on supporters' forums, and he argued that repeated statements alone would not produce meaningful change.

Forde asked fans who witnessed abuse at games to alert a steward and help the club identify those involved. He also called for supporters to challenge hateful material online. The BBC reported that a match official had raised an allegation of racial abuse at a Kettering fixture last season, while another Redditch player was allegedly subjected to racist abuse at Latimer Park in 2017.

Northamptonshire Police told the BBC it had not identified any report relating to Saturday's allegation. The force cautioned that a report might still be awaiting allocation or could have been submitted to a different police force. It said it would take responsibility for an investigation if a report made elsewhere concerned an alleged offence within Northamptonshire, and encouraged anyone who believed they had experienced a crime to contact police.

The force also noted Kettering's statement that the club was working with its security team, stewards and relevant authorities to identify those responsible. Redditch chairman David Faulkner welcomed that commitment, while stressing that action needed to follow. He said efforts to tackle racism required leadership and accountability, alongside a willingness to challenge unacceptable conduct wherever it occurred.

Faulkner also warned against allowing allegations of this kind to be dismissed or forgotten after the initial attention faded. The BBC said it had approached the Football Association for comment. Its report did not include a response from the governing body.