The CFA (County Football Association) is investigating claims of racism in a fixture between two Zingari Combination League 1 clubs on November 3.
The incident became apparent after A.F.C. Wavertree center-back Omar Islam lead his side off the pitch in protest following alleged racist remarks were made to him by opposition players.
He admits that if racism in the league continues he may be forced to leave.
“In all honesty, if this racism continues in this league I will not be able to participate in matches.”
Omar recalls how the confrontation between the two sides soon escalated to racial abuse directed at him.
“As the game progressed I started to get racially abused by 3 Lute F.C. players. The first instance was a comment by one of their CMs (center midfielders) who said ‘where are you from’ to me. I responded ‘Liverpool’ to him. He then proceeded to say ‘doubt that you f*****g p**i’, this is disgusting.”
But, Lute FC was keen to deny Omar’s allegations made against their players “What happens if the other team walk off the pitch n refuse to play? Say they heard a comment but the ref heard ntn”.
What happens if the other team walk off the pitch n refuse to play? Say they heard a comment but the ref heard ntn ??♂️
— The lute F.C. ⚽️ (@LuteFc) November 3, 2018
The picture in the professional game shows little difference with incidents involving Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and Arsenal’s Pierre Emerick-Aubemayang in recent months.
Some have pointed towards the rise of the far-right ‘Football Lads Alliance’ as a key contributor for recent racist incidents in the game.
The group claims to have no political leaning, despite appearances from anti-Islam leaders including Tommy Robinson.
The latest figures reflect a similar growing trend in today’s society, with a sharp rise in racially motivated hate crimes in the past year.
Since 2011/12 figures show that crimes linked to religious hatred have risen by a staggering 418 per cent, while a 14 per cent increase in racially aggravated incidents has been recorded.
in the past year.
A large spike in the figures was seen after the EU referendum campaign and the 2016 terrorist attacks.
Omar believes the government has a big role to play in tackling racism in the future.
“The government could do a lot more with this but I don’t think they have a massive desire to do so, considering some of the other political problems the country has.”
He has been shocked by the CFA’s lack of action following his statement.
“The incident happened nearly 7 weeks ago now so it says a lot about how the CFA see racism”.