Darlington FC: Fan banned for 12 months for misogynistic abuse

The fan was handed the ban after being identified by both eyewitnesses and video footage following a first-half incident in a match between Scarborough Athletic and Darlington on January 2.

Meanwhile, away teams, the Football Association (FA) and the National League will also be informed of the sanction.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Darlington Football Club have banned a supporter for 12 months for shouting misogynist abuse at a female assistant referee during the game against Scarborough on January 2.

“The person concerned was positively identified by eye witnesses and video/media. We thank those supporters and match officials who assisted in this matter and in ‘calling out’ this unacceptable behaviour.

“The club has decided to ban the individual from our home matches for 12 months subject to appeal in accordance with club protocols. We will also be informing the Football Association and the National League and host teams for our away fixtures.”

The game was briefly stopped by referee Dean Watson after Carney reported the abuse, while the announcement was made over the public address system.

Darlington FC issued an apology for the incident, and launched an appeal for witnesses.

The official changed sides after the break, but play was suspended for almost 40 minutes after she was subjected to further comments.

In a statement, the club said: “Darlington Football Club has made it very clear that it strongly condemns any sort of discriminatory behaviour and we are determined to ‘kick it out’ and provide a friendly and welcoming environment.

“We will not tolerate or condone racist, misogynist, sexist, homophobic or any other form of discriminatory behaviour whether physical or verbal.

“Once again, we apologise to the assistant and referee team, the other match officials, Scarborough Athletic Football Club, the FA and the National League for the unacceptable misconduct of our supporters.