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Stafford Town chairman condemns 'disgusting' alleged racist abuse

Stafford Town chairman Paul Beedell has condemned 'disgusting' racist abuse allegedly targeted at club goalkeeper Samuel Amedu.

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The Midland League Division One clash with Warwickshire outfit Atherstone Town was temporarily halted mid-game on Saturday when complaints of racist abuse from travelling fans were made to the officials.

Atherstone manager Scott Rickards and secretary Dave Turner resigned after the game and while investigations continue, Beedell has said the club will support Amedu and the rest of the squad following the incident.

"We can't condone it, it's disgusting and disgraceful," he said.

"We can't comment too much because of the ongoing investigation but it's absolutely horrible.

"Players just want to play football and the majority of fans just want to watch it.

"There's always banter and laughs between teams but this behaviour is not acceptable – it has to be dealt with.

"We've been speaking to Sam as we have a duty of care as a club, but he's fine and just wants to play football.

"There were more black players on the pitch, for both teams, so we need to ensure everyone is supported.

"Everyone has taken it well and dealt with it but of course there's still emotions around it – we appreciate all the concern people are showing for Sam and the club.

"Going forward we wanted to get straight in and train again but flood waters have delayed us.

"It's about going back and concentrating on our football now."

Atherstone released a statement after their 3-0 win saying that the fans responsible have been identified and "will now face lifetime bans" – and Beedell insists it is essential that racism is stamped out of the game.

"Credit to their committee who jumped on it quite quickly and admitted the situation," he added.

"There's video evidence so it's quite clear, but it's hard to comment on that now.

"Hopefully those responsible will be punished accordingly.

"We'll sit down with the whole squad and help anyone affected, that also goes down to our younger teams and all managers will be briefed – there's a lot of upset and angry people after what happened.

"We need to get this out of our game.

"If you can't get rid of it at this level then what hope do we have of eradicating it."