The football club has been delighted with the fantastic support from the vast majority of its fans during the recent FA Cup run.
The support, in both its number and its vocal backing for the team, has been one of the highlights of the Club’s outstanding Cup run. However, there are one or two individuals who have abused the success of the team and behaved in a way that is unacceptable to the Club and its supporters and damaged the image of Bradford City FC.
So following recent isolated, but serious, incidents at the Reading games, three people have been informed that they are to be banned from the Club and two more will be banned, subject to further information from Thames Valley Police. These include:
- One person at the home game who when asked not to drink alcohol in sight of the pitch and not to stand in one of the vomitories, directed foul and abusive language at stewards and threatened them with serious physical violence (and has previously been the subject of a Football Banning Order) has been banned for 5 years
- One supporter at the Reading home game who decided it would be fun to spray tomato ketchup over a steward has been banned until 30th June 2015
- The person who ran onto the pitch at the home game versus Reading was arrested by the Police for the offence and has been banned by the Club for 5 years
- The person who was arrested and charged by Thames Valley Police for racial abuse of a Reading player, an incident seen by millions live on BBC 1, will be banned from the Club for life if found to be guilty. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable to everyone within the Club and the vast majority of its supporters and has been hugely damaging to the image of the Club during a great season where it has previously made headlines for all the right reasons
- The person who used social media to announce that he planned to take pyrotechnics into the Madejski Stadium and on a targeted search was found to have a pyrotechnic amongst his possessions will be banned for 5 years. Carrying these devices into any stadium is a serious offence and, for Bradford City fans in particular, can never be justified.
The Club hopes that by issuing these Club bans, it will remove a small number of fans who are, quite simply, not wanted here at the Club. In addition, it hopes to send out a message that as the Club becomes more successful, this small band of people who are responsible for unacceptable behaviour that tarnishes the good name the Club is developing will not be tolerated.
There are also a couple of incidents at the home game versus Reading and three further arrests at the replay that the Club is still investigating and further bans may announced when those investigations gave been completed.
The Club would take this opportunity of reminding supporters attending home games that its confidential texting service remains in operation. If any fan sees situations that have a potential to reduce the safety of supporters or crowd behaviour that is unacceptable, please text the briefest of messages highlighting the location and nature of the problem to 07949 814243.
Thank you, once again, to the thousands who have backed the Club during the Cup-run: we hope that you will continue to support us during as we approach the finale of the Sky Bet League 1 campaign and, just as importantly, back us in the decisions taken to remove a small unwanted element from our following.