EXCLUSIVE: Aldershot Town chairman vows to come down hard on supporter pending the outcome of racism probe by police

(Photo: Andrew Whitfield)
By Jon Couch
ALDERSHOT TOWN chairman Shahid Azeem says any form of racism from the terraces will “not be tolerated and dealt with extremely seriously” in the wake of an accusation from Ebbsfleet United midfielder Ebou Adams on Saturday.
An alleged comment from a Shots fan towards Adams was reported to referee Joe Hull during the Shots’ 3-1 defeat at Stonebridge Road at the weekend.
Both managers were consulted before stewards stepped in to remove the suspect from the away end.
Since then, police have launched an investigation and are working closely alongside officials of both clubs to determine exactly what happened.
Mr Azeem said he first became aware that an incident had taken place when visibly-upset Adams had wandered over to the dugout area just in front of his seat in the directors’ box to speak to manager Daryl McMahon.
“At first I thought something had been thrown but shortly afterwards a steward told me what had happened,” the Shots chief exclusively told The NLP.
“We work very hard at our football club to protect our proud reputation and we take any form of misbehaviour from our visiting supporters very seriously. It is simply not tolerated.
“I asked to be kept informed of the situation so we, as a club, could make our own enquiries.
“I was told at the time that there was no evidence, no statement made and no charges brought and, as far as we are concerned, that has not changed.
“If any of our supporters had been found to have misbehaved then of course we will act accordingly, but until we heard back from the reports or evidence from the police investigation then we can’t make any further comment.”