Carlisle United: FA written reasons for racist chanting fine

Written reasons for the Blues’ punishment have been revealed surrounding events in their Boxing Day home game against Bradford City last year.

An independent regulatory commission heard that there were three incidents of racist chanting from the Warwick Road End during Carlisle’s 1-0 victory.

It is said that a “significant” number of home supporters made a chant towards Bradford which included an "obviously discriminatory" and "highly insulting" word.

One such incident took place in the tenth minute of the game, with the club – who admitted the charges – contending that this involved a “handful” of fans.

A second such incident came before half-time involving, the club said, even fewer people, while the third such incident was said to be the loudest – “detected and reported to Carlisle officials immediately”.

The chanting, the commission heard, was “clearly aimed at the visiting Bradford fans”.

An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed an action plan and £7,500 fine on Carlisle United FC for a breach of FA Rule E21.4.

Full statement: https://t.co/Ij80NVM0Uk pic.twitter.com/c095AlwZ1l

— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) August 2, 2023

CCTV could not, though, identify those responsible while, after the chanting was reported by a United fan representative to the club’s safety officer and a police officer, response stewards were deployed along with police spotters with cameras.

“No further racist chanting was identified from this point onwards,” the report says.

The “facts” of the charges, set out in the report, goes on to note that neither police nor stewards saw the fans who were chanting the racist comments, nor were the chants reported by the match officials or media.

But after the game, the Blues received about “half a dozen” formal complaints from Carlisle and Bradford fans about the chants.

The panel watched a six-second piece of video footage which included audio of the racist chanting, which “appeared to involve multiple spectators”.

In considering punishment, the panel considered that, because of the multiple occasions of racist chanting, this could not be considered an “isolated” case.

It said the racist word used in the chant was “obviously and plainly discriminatory and highly insulting. It is highly offensive to those right-thinking people who heard it or came to know of its use in these circumstances.”

Nigel Clibbens submitted evidence on United's behalf, and yesterday issued a statement condemning the racist behaviour (Image: Ben Holmes)

The commission also considered written submissions by the club, in the form of letters by secretary Sarah McKnight and chief executive Nigel Clibbens with attached evidence.

The report says Clibbens highlighted United’s promotion of codes of conduct relating to equality, diversity and inclusivity, leading the panel to conclude that the Blues had taken proactive steps “generically” in relation to issues of discriminatory conduct by fans.

But the commission said there was a lack of supportive documentation for them to “properly evidence any or any proper due diligence carried out by Carlisle prior to this match”.

They said they were not supplied with any briefing documents in relation to stewards and security staffing for the game, while they did not receive evidence of a safety officer’s decision log or similar material, evidence of a pre-match deployment plan and/or briefing for safety and security officials relating to any specific risks around the game, or “evidence of formal contingency plans”.

“The fact that there was not any evidence of a public announcement message is most probably a reflection of the lack of any or any proper contingency planning,” the commission said.

They added: “There were CCTV facilities at the match that captured audio of some of the events that ultimately took place. However, those facilities were either unable to be deployed so as to detect the perpetrators of such chanting or were not properly deployed so to do.”

The commission found that Carlisle “reacted relatively quickly” once the racist chanting was brought to their attention.

But they said it was “surprising” that it took until the third such incident for the problem to be detected.

The commission also said “any proper pre-match risk assessment” of this specific game would have identified potential “risk factors” around Bradford’s visit.

They also questioned how widely advertised was the club’s mobile phone number which allows fans to report offensive misconduct.

And while Carlisle condemned the incidents afterwards, the report added: “There was no evidence, however, before the Commission of what extra measures (if any) were put in place after this match by Carlisle to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence of such discriminatory chanting in future matches.”

It was noted that no individuals had been identified as the perpetrators of the chanting and the commission added:

“The Commission was surprised and disappointed that there was no evidence of the use of focussed CCTV towards the area of the racist chanting as soon as possible once the racist chanting had been brought to the attention of Carlisle safety and security officials.”

In deciding United’s fine, the commission “unanimously” agreed that a financial penalty was justified, considering the fact the incidents were not isolated, and bearing in mind the “substantial deficiencies” in pre-match planning by the Blues.

Had Carlisle contested the charge, they would have faced a £10,000 fine but, given they accepted the charge, the eventual fine was £7,500.

Carlisle were also formally warned about future conduct, while an action plan for United was also set out which will be monitored by the FA throughout the 2023/24 season.

The panel consisted of Abdul Iqbal, Ken Brown and Matt Wild, with Michael O’Connor acting as secretary.

Carlisle, in a statement on Tuesday, underlined their determination to be more “proactive” in handling such incidents and in seeking to prevent them.

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said: “The club condemns the discriminatory and disorderly behaviour we saw at the game.

“The damage to the reputation of the club and football and issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity by such discriminatory misconduct is obvious.

“It is unsurprising that we received multiple complaints from supporters after that game. We are deeply sorry for this incident and apologise to Bradford City, its fans and all spectators at the match, and the wider game, for this incident. 

“It brings shame on the club and our fans. There must be no repeat.”

“We have worked to improve spectator behaviour, including with supporter groups, but this has proved to fall short of what is required. We will introduce an action plan in accordance with the FA Regulatory Commission sanction. 

“The club will develop initiatives to make it a more inclusive environment and will be more proactive in the prevention and detection of any potential discriminatory or disorderly behaviour going forward.

“This will include a media campaign across our website and social media accounts emphasising the club’s policies and zero tolerance approach toward discriminatory and disorderly behaviour.”

The full written reasons can be read HERE