Report now;Anthony Elanga was engaged; police were looking into two claims made by the Nottingham Forest player……
Police investigating two allegations of homophobic abuse during Saturday’s match at the City Ground; a Forest season ticket holder tells Sky Sports he felt unsafe at the game and that it is “concerning” nobody challenged the abuse; Forest and Premier League release statements
A Nottingham Forest season ticket holder who attended Saturday’s Premier League game against Brighton says the extent of homophobic abuse from fans resulted in “the worst situation I’ve had at a football match”.
Sussex Police have confirmed to Sky Sports they are working with their Nottinghamshire counterparts and Forest to “identify and take appropriate action” after two allegations of homophobic abuse were made relating to the fixture.
Ten-player Brighton’s controversial 3-2 win sparked wild celebrations for the visitors, and also unsavoury scenes in the Upper Bridgford Stand from where a number of home fans directed gestures and insults towards the away end below.Forest supporter Peter Davey, attending the game with a friend, later posted to X – formerly known as Twitter – about his matchday experience, referencing the alleged homophobic slurs and also claiming a threat was made towards him by another fan.
He has since spoken to Sky Sports to provide more detail on what happened and the damaging impact of the abuse, which occurred on the first day of the annual activation of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.
Davey’s tweet prompted Forest’s LGBTQ+ and allies supporters group, Proud Forest, to issue a statement. The group said Saturday’s incident was “hugely disappointing” and they would be submitting video footage “through the right channel
The Premier League responded on X, saying it “condemns all forms of discrimination and will support the club and relevant authorities”, while Kick It Out described the abuse as “disgusting” and said it had forwarded on reports that the organisation had received about the incidents.
It was during the second half on Saturday when Brighton extended their lead from the penalty spot in the 58th minute that the homophobic abuse began in earnest, said Davey.
“It was fairly obvious that homophobic gestures were being made, from one person in front of us in particular,” he said.
“He was doing it for the majority of the second half but he wasn’t the only one.
“At full-time, the celebrations from the Brighton players were pretty exuberant and that riled the Forest fans up. However, the language that they chose to use in retaliation to the Brighton players and fans was homophobic.”
Davey said as he and his friend walked down the stand towards the exit, a group of Forest fans directed “a large number of slurs” at the away end.
“When my friend asked them to stop, they didn’t – they started insulting him.”
A request for assistance from a steward was unsuccessful, added Davey.
“One of the people who had been chanting and making insults with his mates then turned to me and called me a ‘f***ing gay p***k’ and said why don’t you try and do something about it – a threat to contin
ue it outside.”
