Millwall Football Club today released a follow up statement after a video was posted online with ‘racist chanting’ during Saturday’s victory over Everton.
Within 24-hours of the video circulating online the club vowed “Anyone identified and guilty of such abuse will be banned from The Den for life.”
Today (Friday February 1) Millwall Football Club, through its anti-discrimination organisation, ‘Millwall For All’, which has been working alongside the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) for a number of months to organise a focus group said: “Individuals from different backgrounds come together to discuss the club’s current initiatives and work to find ways of keeping Millwall at the forefront of battling discrimination in football.
“The focus group, made up of 12 voluntary members and including representatives from the club and relevant industry authorities, will meet in February and consult with the club, at all levels, moving on from that.”
Millwall For All’s Marc Elliott said: “Millwall has long led the way when it comes to anti-discrimination measures but clearly there is some way to go and no club can be complacent in their efforts to combat such abhorrent behaviour.
“We continue to work alongside all relevant authorities, including Kick It Out and the FSF, in order to ensure that the club is doing everything in its power to continue making The Den a safe and enjoyable environment for supporters of all backgrounds. This initiative will help to further that.”
Anwar Uddin, from the FSF’s ‘Fans for Diversity’ campaign, added: “The FSF and Millwall have been in discussions for some time about arranging a focus group where the issue of anti-discrimination, and the club’s initiatives surrounding it, will be debated.
“The weekend’s incident brings into the sharp focus the need for supporters and clubs to work together to combat racism and we look forward to doing this with Millwall to prioritise new initiatives at the club.”