During our men’s match against Midwest United FC yesterday, one of our players was subjected to racially abusive language from an unidentified fan. The player reported this incident to the referee immediately who then communicated to the fourth official who notified someone working on behalf of the home team. Our club Chair, Bilal Saeed, has been in communication with Louis Stephens, Midwest United FC GM who has been instrumental in helping us look for ways to prevent this from happening again, while also holding the party involved responsible. We will continue to work with Louis and Midwest United FC to ensure all is done to identify the individual(s) responsible.

The referee report from yesterday’s match failed to mention the racial incident that occurred which is a major obstacle in tackling racism within sport. If this is not required by US Soccer or the league, we strongly believe it should be, as it will help us account for and address these issues accordingly. Even though the racial abuse came from a fan, it was directed at a player who was on the pitch at the time.

As the founding club of Anti Racist Soccer Club, AFC Ann Arbor’s ten point plan clearly states our commitment to foster an environment where players are comfortable to speak up about these issues while proactively trying to eradicate racist language and abuse through anti-racist practices. We stand firmly behind our player, we are thankful for Louis Stephen’s leadership and we hope that both the league and referees become active in anti-racist practices to prevent further incidents of racial abuse from occurring.