Birmingham City manager John Eustace has alleged goalkeeper Neil Etheridge was racially abused during their FA Cup tie with Blackburn.
The fourth round 2-2 draw between the Championship sides at Ewood Park saw a delay to the game after an altercation by Etheridge’s goal.
Referee Keith Stroud stopped proceedings to talk to the England-born Philippines international, before restarting play.
Asked about what happened post-match, Blues manager Eustace told the media: “Neil was racially abused, which is bang out of order.
“There’s no room for any racism at all in society let alone football, really disappointing that that’s happened, us as a football club don’t condone it at all and we’re fully behind Neil.”
After confirming that it was a fan involved behind the goal, Eustace was asked about referee Stroud’s dealing of the situation.
“100 per cent [he dealt with it well],” he said. “It’s a very, very, very serious issue, you can’t not take it by the scruff of the neck.
“Neil was shook up a little bit after the game and quite rightly so, but the lads got right round him and made sure he’s OK.
“We’ll speak to him on the bus and see how he is.
“I think the referee will report it then it will be up to Blackburn as a club to deal with the situation.”
The FA have since released a statement on the matter, which read: “We are aware of an alleged incident of racial abuse that was reported to the match official during the Emirates FA Cup match between Blackburn Rovers FC and Birmingham City FC.
“We take all allegations of discrimination extremely seriously and we will be investigating as a matter of urgency, working with the clubs and the relevant authorities.”
Read the full article here
