Kettering Town calls for action after Dan Sweeney reports racist abuse

Kettering Town has called on supporters to challenge and report racism after Redditch United player Dan Sweeney said he was racially abused by a home supporter at Latimer Park. According to BBC Sport, the allegation concerns Saturday’s Southern League Premier Division Central match, which Kettering won 2-1. The club’s response addressed both behaviour inside the ground and abuse online.

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Director of football Fabian Forde said Kettering could no longer treat racism as a problem adequately explained by referring to a small minority of fans. In a statement on the club’s website, reported by the BBC, he argued that silence from other supporters allowed those responsible to shape the club’s reputation among visiting players, fans and officials.

Forde also criticised racism on supporters’ forums and said routine statements were not enough to bring about change. He urged fans to challenge hateful posts, report abuse heard at matches to stewards and help the club identify those involved. His appeal asked supporters to take responsibility for responding to incidents rather than leaving discriminatory behaviour unchallenged in the stands or online.

Northamptonshire Police told the BBC it had not identified a report relating to Saturday’s allegation. The force cautioned that a report might be awaiting allocation or might have been made elsewhere. It said it would take responsibility if an alleged offence reported to another force was found to have occurred in Northamptonshire, and encouraged anyone who believed they had experienced a crime to contact police.

Redditch chairman David Faulkner welcomed Kettering’s commitment to work with its security team, stewards and relevant authorities to identify those responsible. He said action needed to follow the statements and stressed the importance of leadership and accountability. Faulkner also warned against allowing incidents to be dismissed or forgotten after the initial attention had passed, according to the BBC report.

The latest allegation follows earlier reported incidents at Kettering, including alleged racial abuse raised by a match official last season and an allegation involving a Redditch player at Latimer Park in 2017. BBC Sport said it had approached the Football Association for comment. Saturday’s allegation remains distinct from those earlier reports, with police setting out how any report would be assessed and investigated.