Police arrest Brentford fan for racist abuse during Man City game
Brentford fans outside the stadium before a Premier League match against Aston Villa, London, England, Jan. 2, 2022. (Reuters Photo)


Premier League club Brentford confirmed Sunday that one of its supporters was arrested for alleged racist and homophobic abuse of a Manchester City player after Wednesday's home game.

Brentford did not release details of the incident but said they had banned the individual pending further investigation.

"We are aware of an incident at the game on Wednesday night where a Brentford supporter was arrested for allegedly abusing a Manchester City player using racist and homophobic language – this is currently a police matter," the club said in a statement.

"As a condition of their bail, the individual involved is not permitted to attend any Brentford FC matches until the police investigation is concluded and may be subject to Club sanction pending the outcome of that process."

Promoted Brentford, who lost 1-0 to City, is 14th in the league standings with 20 points from 18 games. It hosts Aston Villa later Sunday.

English football has seen a rise in racist abuse, both in the arena and online in recent years.

Earlier last week, Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed that a new bill will bar proven online racist abusers of footballers from attending games.

The Football Banning Orders imposed to prevent violence or disorder at regulated matches, bar individuals from attending games for a minimum of three and a maximum of 10 years.

The existing legislation will be extended to cover online hate offenses after Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to toughen measures in July in the wake of racist abuse aimed at England's Black players following defeat in the Euro 2020 final.

According to government statistics, there were 1,359 football banning orders in force across England and Wales as of Aug. 1.