Another racial claim being made against our fans
Bobby Nwanze, 32, is a Rangers man but was left in floods of tears after being racially abused in Ibrox as well as in a local Rangers supporters bar.
www.edinburghlive.co.uk
A freelance sport producer from East Lothian says he was
racially abused on two occasions over the space of a few hours after attending a Rangers football game.
Bobby Nwanze, 32, said that he was forced to leave a Rangers Scottish Cup match vs Stirling Albion at half time on Friday January 21, after he faced abuse from a fellow supporter in the stands.
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To make matters worse, Bobby was subjected to a further bout of abuse when visiting a Rangers themed bar close to the stadium.
Speaking to
Edinburgh Live, Bobby said that he was left in tears in the car when returning from Glasgow, and that the incident had put him off from returning to Ibrox but that he would do so, as he did not want to empower racists.
On the abuse he received, he said: “Why I like Rangers is that the team is relatable to me. In the past the squad was not overly diverse but when you look at the team now that has completely changed. The captain Tavernier is black as is Bassey, Balogun, Aribo, Morelos, Sakala, Bacuna and Kamara. So for me I identify with them.
“To be honest, I am often apprehensive about going to live games due to the elements of racism that can occur there. But my friend Abie, John and I decided to go through for the Scottish Cup tie as we thought it would be a nice family friendly atmosphere with it being the fourth round of the cup.
“Around 25 minutes into the game, I’m doing my usual and talking football with fans around me, having a good time. But then I see an older man waving his arms at me, he looks at me and says ‘I can’t understand a word you are saying, are you even speaking English?’
“I turned to my friends and asked if he had just said what I thought he had. After that I just felt sick and my mood completely dropped. My friends said to try to ignore him but I could not.
“So we left to go to a Rangers bar, I think it was called the Wee Rangers, and when we walked in it was as if everyone had stopped to stare at me walking to the bar - it was weird. We ordered some drinks and just took ourselves to a quiet corner to watch the rest of the game. That is when a middle aged man approached me.
“This gentleman would not leave me alone. He said ‘You are black, what does Fashion Sakala mean?’ My friend asked what he said and when I repeated it they were absolutely astounded. The man proceeded to keep calling me Fashion Sakala even though I asked him to leave me alone to watch the game.
“My friends then tried their best to get them to leave me alone but then the man turned with their group of 20-30 mates and started singing the Fashion Sakala song at me. Now I do not mind banter but my race is not a joke for other people’s amusement. This was being derogative.
“The guy then sat next to me again and started to touch my arms whilst saying, ‘You’re a big boy eh, you're always big.’ He continued to bother me before I was stern and said to leave me alone. It was then that the man said I shouldn’t be there.