FA Cup rivals in show of unity ahead of tonight’s rearranged tie

Haringey Borough and Yeovil Town are hoping their rearranged FA Cup clash in north London tonight passes without incident after another show of unity by the clubs.
They’ve issued a joint statement in the build-up to Tuesday’s rescheduled fourth qualifying tie after the players of both sides walked off when they first met following allegations of racist abuse.and the match was subsequently abandoned.
The joint statement read: “Irrespective of which team wins on the pitch, on Tuesday we want the real winner to be football.
“The testing times after the first game have in fact resulted in a strong bond between the two clubs and we have been working hard together with the authorities to make sure Tuesday’s game is safe and enjoyable for all, with increased stewarding being one of many additional measures.”
“We welcome all true football fans to join us on Tuesday for a great FA Cup tie.”
The tie was officially abandoned on Saturday 19 October just over half an hour after the Isthmian League hosts walked off after their players were reported to have been subjected to racist abuse and objects were thrown on to the pitch.
In a first show of unity, they were followed by Darren Sarll and his Glovers who’d taken a 1-0 on 64 minutes as the incident that led to abandonment unfolded.
Before rearranging the tie, the Football Association opened up an investigation into the incident at Coles Park within hours and two men have been subsequently arrested and released on bail.
The story started making unwanted headlines around the world within hours of breaking, from the front of The Non-League Paper in the UK to The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia.
The tie was called off four days after England’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria was halted twice as fans were warned about racist behaviour.
Haringey’s Cameroonian keeper Valery Douglas Pajetat, pictured, was reportedly spat at, racially abused and hit by an object while Borough defender Coby Rowe later took to Twitter to confirm he was targeted in the incident that led to the players of both sides walking off.
He posted: “Can’t believe I’m tweeting this and it’s 2019 but today I was a victim of racism, in what was supposed to be a great day for @HaringeyBoroFC. Another game of football ruined by racists.’
The Glovers tweeted their support for walking off soon after the incident before releasing a<a class=”sp-story-body__external-link” href=”https://www.ytfc.net/news/2019/october/club-statement-haringey-borough/”> statement</a> saying they “will not accept racism or discrimination in any form” and that they will “be cooperating with the authorities and our friends at Haringey”.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>
<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>The players of both sides return to the pitch as a show of solidarity. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/YTFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#YTFC</a> <a href=”https://t.co/yAlV44MYrf”>pic.twitter.com/yAlV44MYrf</a></p>
— Yeovil Town FC (@YTFC) <a href=”https://twitter.com/YTFC/status/1185588180466196481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Image courtesy of Pinnacle