The Prince of Wales raised his concerns about the “abhorrent” behaviour aimed at young football players and has been in touch with the Football Association, insisting those involved must be held accountable. William, who is also president of the FA, wrote a letter to the football club condemning the racism its players – some as young as seven-years-old – and coaches have faced.
Alpha United Juniors, the football team which is based in Bradford, first came forward about the abuse in November.
It claimed children as young as seven had been victims of abuse and had been receiving slurs and even threats of violence from the sidelines.
In a letter to the team seen by Sky News, the future monarch revealed he had contacted the FA about the allegations.
He wrote: “Racism and abuse has no place in our society. Abhorrent behaviour of this nature must stop now.”
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Speaking to the Mirror, Mohammed Waheed revealed a player was subjected to racial slurs and called the n-word only yesterday.
Mr Waheed, who founded the club 10 years ago, reached out to Kensington Palace in January stating he had approached the FA about the issue on multiple occasions.
He said the Prince then contacted the club last month, adding: “It was nice to hear. Knowing that he’s raised it.
“We’ve had 10 years of this, from the first match we played we saw racism.
“It was my under-14s team. We have had kids that have dropped out because of the abuse.”
Mr Waheed said attacks have risen since Brexit, adding: “You can’t abandon the game because you get fined by the FA..”
The team’s founder added the club had reported up to 60 cases and urged the FA to change its procedures.
Mr Waheed added: “This stuff affects you for life.”
A West Riding FA spokesperson said: “We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and we will always do our utmost to hold perpetrators to account.
“In order for us to gather evidence, raise charges, and issue sanctions against perpetrators, we require witnesses to engage with our judicial process. Despite our best efforts, the club did not support this process.”
West Riding FA also added it is investigating examples of racism experienced within the club.
Prince William is not the only one to pile on pressure to the FA, as voices have spoken out about the issue from Westminster.
Bradford West MP Naz Shah wrote to the FA’s chair Debbie Hewitt asking her to investigate the issue immediately.
Ms Shah told Sky News: “You’ve got a child being called the P word and another the black B word and other names, that is not okay for anybody in society, there is no place for racism.
“We have made pledges and to show racism the red card, where are those pledges when it comes to grassroots football?”
