Reporting of abuse at Darlington FC matches
At Darlington FC, difference is embraced and the club want to make sure everyone who attends football matches at Blackwell Meadows is welcome and free from any kind of hate or abuse. We will not tolerate racist, homophobic, gender, misogynistic or any other kind of abuse at Blackwell Meadows, or from our supporters at away games.
Reporting incidents on a matchday
Disorderly and discriminatory behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated at Blackwell Meadows, and the club will take strong action against this. The club will not tolerate, for example, homophobic, misogynistic or racist chanting at any individual who is either playing in, volunteering, or attending the game. If you witness any act of hate, discrimination or abusive behaviour at Blackwell Meadows, you can confidentially report it by the following methods:
We ask all supporters to report incidents and the most efficient way to do this is by speaking directly to a steward. However, in situations where this is not possible, supporters should use the text reporting service, providing as much detail regarding the incident as possible. For example, where the incident has taken place, where the offender is located, where the person reporting the abuse is located.
Supporters who witness discriminatory abuse at an away fixture should follow the host club’s reporting procedure or speak to a steward on the day. Darlington FC will liaise with the host club as necessary. Those identified as partaking in such behaviour will be dealt with in line with Darlington FC’s policies.
Our policy on ejections and club bans can be found here.
What happens when I report an incident?
Once an incident has been reported, it will be logged and fed back to the club. In some instances, it will not always be possible for the club to take visible action straight away.
Having reported an incident using the text message reporting service, supporters may receive a reply from the club asking them for further information or providing further instructions.
There may also be a requirement for the club to contact the person who has reported the abuse for further information in the days following the incident. It is also likely that the details of the incidents will be passed to the police for further investigation.
What happens if I report football-related hate crime or incident of abuse from social media to the club?
The club will share all reports of football-related hate crime or incidents of abuse to the police for the incident to be investigated fully. The club will assist the police in their investigations. Once the investigation has concluded and if the police deem that a crime has been committed, they will take action, and the club will be updated. We will then act in line with club policy.
We strongly urge supporters to report all incidents of abuse or discrimination directly to the police and the social media network as well as reporting any football-related incidents to the club.
The club prides itself at being at the heart of the community, and we do not want that hard-earned and precious reputation tarnished by disorderly and discriminatory behaviour at our matches.
