Everton announced yesterday that they will stop selling tickets to their own fans for away matches if any of the club''s travelling support persist with racist or otherwise abusive behaviour.
There were particularly bad outbreaks of racist chanting at the away games at Leicester, on 24 November, and at Fulham, last weekend. In other recent games, Everton supporters have been heard chanting about the health problems of Liverpool''s manager, Gérard Houllier, and about the Anfield club''s England striker, Emile Heskey.
A spokesman said:
"We have been inundated with complaints from our decent fans about incidents that occurred at Fulham last weekend. To show just how seriously we take those complaints, the board and the manager, Walter Smith, have joined together to issue a joint statement aimed at stopping such incidents happening again."
The statement said:
"During the game against Fulham two bottles were thrown onto the pitch and, for the second time in a matter of a few weeks, racist chants could be heard emanating from our section of the crowd. The foul-mouthed and dishonourable actions of what we know to be a very small minority has once again called into question the integrity of a club which has always sought to promote the virtues of fair play, honour and equal opportunity.
"Quite simply, there is no place for either racism or violence at Everton and we shall do everything within our power to root out the culprits. We shall take strong and decisive action in order to ensure that the name of our club is not blackened by the reckless actions of people who have no place amongst our support. We feel so strongly about this that if necessary we shall even consider halting the sale of tickets for our away fixtures – a drastic step which we are desperate to avoid, but one which may provide an unpalatable solution to a problem which cannot be ignored and which must be addressed."
There were particularly bad outbreaks of racist chanting at the away games at Leicester, on 24 November, and at Fulham, last weekend. In other recent games, Everton supporters have been heard chanting about the health problems of Liverpool''s manager, Gérard Houllier, and about the Anfield club''s England striker, Emile Heskey.
A spokesman said:
"We have been inundated with complaints from our decent fans about incidents that occurred at Fulham last weekend. To show just how seriously we take those complaints, the board and the manager, Walter Smith, have joined together to issue a joint statement aimed at stopping such incidents happening again."
The statement said:
"During the game against Fulham two bottles were thrown onto the pitch and, for the second time in a matter of a few weeks, racist chants could be heard emanating from our section of the crowd. The foul-mouthed and dishonourable actions of what we know to be a very small minority has once again called into question the integrity of a club which has always sought to promote the virtues of fair play, honour and equal opportunity.
"Quite simply, there is no place for either racism or violence at Everton and we shall do everything within our power to root out the culprits. We shall take strong and decisive action in order to ensure that the name of our club is not blackened by the reckless actions of people who have no place amongst our support. We feel so strongly about this that if necessary we shall even consider halting the sale of tickets for our away fixtures – a drastic step which we are desperate to avoid, but one which may provide an unpalatable solution to a problem which cannot be ignored and which must be addressed."