Gillingham Town FC win misconduct hearing following racial abuse of one of their players
The club was initially fined for walking off the pitch in solidarity with midfielder, Eboni McCann, who was racially abused by an opposition fan.
Last updated 5th Nov 2021
Gillingham Town FC will not be fined by the FA after winning their case in a misconduct hearing.
The club decided to abandon a game against Bridport on October 9th, after midfielder, Eboni McCann, was racially abused by an opposition fan.
They were initially told they could receive a fine of up to £150 for breaking FA rules, but contested this out of principle.
Secretary of Gillingham Town FC, Paul Hill, told us:
"The easy solution would have been for us just to say, yes, guilty as charged and we would have probably got away with a minimal fine.
"It was nothing to do with the money, it was a principle thing.
"If we would have said we were guilty, that would not have given a good message - either to our player who had been abused, or football as a whole - because it would have said 'yes, you can get away with it.'
The charge was subsequently dismissed at the hearing, which took place on Wednesday this week.
Paul Hill added:
"The principle should be the same from the top, right the way through to the bottom. If racism is not acceptable for the England team, then it shouldn't be acceptable at our level.
"It is not acceptable in this day and age to be racist at any level of football."
The FA’s Discipline Commission said the abuse should “not have happened” and Bridport has now accepted an aggravated misconduct charge.
Following the result of the hearing, the Commission said:
"Racism has no place in football. What happened to the victim, Mr. McCann, was appalling. It should not have happened.
"Bridport has rightly accepted an aggravated Misconduct charge levelled against it due to the actions of its supporter and has been sanctioned accordingly.
"Gillingham’s players cannot reasonably be said to have failed to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion when neither they nor the Match referee were properly aware of the steps to be taken under the Protocol in the first place."