.png)
Hereford FC Chairman, Chris Ammonds, has today released the following statement on behalf of the club in response to the open letter posted by lifelong Bulls fan, KD Rai, on his social media platforms.
“When KD reached out to the club privately via email to report the chant he heard at Merthyr, everyone here who was sighted on the message was devastated. When he then shared his open letter with me in advance of its publication, the true horror of how he had been made to feel really hit home.
“I have since spoken to KD on several occasions and the impact this has had him could not be clearer. I would never pretend that I could have any idea how this had made him feel, but what I do know is that I was left feeling ashamed that individuals associating with a club that we both love could have behaved in such a way.
“While I need to be careful what I say because these chants are being investigated by the police with the club’s full support following reports from other fans too, I want to state categorically that everyone at Hereford FC stands alongside KD and that we will continue to do all we can to support him. Chants of this nature have no place in our society at any time, and for him or anyone else to be treated in this way is an absolute disgrace.
“I was proud of the way that we, as a club, handled the incident that occurred at Sporting Khalsa earlier in the season, and I was proud of our fans for reacting with a clear show of disgust and an outpouring of support for the anti-racism campaign led by their fellow supporters at the time.
“Therefore, I have no doubt that the majority of supporters will be left feeling as upset as I am by KD’s letter and I hope they join me in stating that anyone who joined in with this chant at Merthyr is not welcome at our club.
“At Hereford FC we pride ourselves on offering a warm welcome to everyone and we will continue to do that moving forward. Incidents like this will not be allowed to define our great club, and we will not shy away from taking the robust action necessary to ensure that, whenever an issue arises, our entire fanbase is not tarred by the actions of a small, mindless minority.”