Salford City issue a lengthy statement saying they are ‘extremely disappointed’ after police drop the racism investigation.
A pre-season friendly between York and Salford was abandoned at 3-3 in the 84th minute after alleged racist abuse was reported.
Salford boss Karl Robinson led his players off the pitch, and a 23-year-old fan was arrested by North Yorkshire Police, who are seeking witnesses.
Salford City condemned the incident, said they stand against racism and discrimination, and called for accountability.
Salford City Football Club is extremely disappointed with the findings of the investigation by North Yorkshire Police, and the subsequent decision not to charge the individual responsible for the racist abuse aimed at Adebola Oluwo.
It is particularly concerning how the…
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) September 24, 2025
In a further update on the 24th of September, a statement read: “Salford City Football Club is extremely disappointed with the findings of the investigation by North Yorkshire Police, and the subsequent decision not to charge the individual responsible for the racist abuse aimed at Adebola Oluwo.
“It is particularly concerning how the investigation concludes that there is no evidence to corroborate the report of abuse, despite a number of first-hand accounts of the abuse from those present at the fixture. This includes from the match officials who we know, through discussions with the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO), gave verbal statements on the night and provided their details for the investigating team to follow up, but have not been contacted.
“Having spoken with Adebola and sought further advice on the matter, including legal, we will be exercising the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme to request an independent review to reconsider this outcome.
“Our players, coaching staff, members and everybody at our Club stand united with Adebola, and we have also engaged the English Football League (@EFL), the Professional Footballers‘ Association (@PFA the players’ union), and @kickitout, who have all offered their full and unequivocal support for the review application.
“The match officials, supported by their governing body @FA_PGMOL, remain available to be contacted to provide their impartial accounts of events that evening.
“We will pursue every available avenue to ensure accountability, and together send a clear message that racism has no place in our sport.
“No further comment will be made at this time.”
We stand together as a team, a football club, a community and a game against racism and discrimination.
Friday night’s incident is truly shocking, and something that must not be allowed to happen again. Racist abuse has serious long-term effects on its victims, and those… pic.twitter.com/oPH8jTq8nR
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) July 16, 2025
Powerful video released after York v Salford gets abandoned with player racially abused
York v Salford abandoned with players taken off pitch and fan arrested after alleged racist abuse
Karl Robinson: There’s a bit of a scuffle and a melee that happened in the pitch and got settled down, and I decided to sub one of our players.
“And having made substitution, and he sort of passed me and then we hear multiple noises that replicated monkey noises.
“Then turned around, looked up and we could see it, and some players would like try be aggressive and shout at the person.
“And then I just walked onto the pitch and to the referee, stop the game.
“I had a responsibility to walk my team off the pitch. Then it stands for the team to decide what they wanna do as a unit.
“They had an ability to go out and play that statement into the game, or they have a decision to make and they just say we’re not gonna play.”
Oluwo: “Obviously, Gaffer. He told everyone to get in. Everyone’s stuck together.”
Karl: “I’m really proud of them. They made a collective decision not to play the remaining seven to eight minutes. I backed their judgment on that.”
Interviewer: “Has anything ever haven’t you like that before?”
Oluwo: “Yeah. Quite a few times. I’m not shocked, But at the same time, it’s not a nice feeling. Do you know what I mean? And there’s only so much you can do as well there and then. So you kinda have to just alert others and let them deal with it the best they can. But it’s not my first time. It’s happened quite a few times anyway. What you do? All we can do is, bring bring attention to it and let them be punished in full view to kind of deter others from from doing the same. Yeah. It’s happened a few times. It’s not just in football as well outside of football. But like I said, there’s only so much you can do especially you can just let them handle it the best they can like I said.”
Interviewer: “Oh gosh. Sorry, man. That’s depressing.”
Oluwo: “It’s alright. It’s alright.”
Interviewer: “Was it an easy decision to just walk off the pitch?”
Oluwo: “Yeah. And that’s why I credit the the players as well because once one person said it everyone just kind of said yeah. If it was the right thing to do. And even in the changing room, the question came up about going back out, but everyone said, if one person is walking off, then we’re all doing it. So that’s a that’s credit to the boys and and the the management team. Handed it up really well.”
Oluwo: “As I’ve heard in all. For me, it happens more outside of football. So I’ve been walking the street in France, for example, and some drunk man just came to me like, oh ******, That’s what I’m saying. In a football environment, you kind of just have to let the club deal with it the best they can. Because if you try and take matters into your own hands, you”
Mnoga: “To be fair, I felt, like, quite, almost, like, helpless. The amount of scenarios where you see it happen, and especially with like the York support, they obviously have black lads on their team as well.”
Garbutt: “I don’t understand it, though. I don’t get it at all. It’s the maddest thing ever. In this day and age, like, the amount of education and stuff that ends on Sky Sports News all the time and you know social media now, campaigns, Kick It Out, all that type of stuff like the fact that it’s still going on, it’s just so sad to be honest. You know? You might all start second guessing walking out onto the pitch now. Is this gonna happen again? Like do I feel totally comfortable about going out to my next match because it might happen again.”
Oluwo: “I think that’s that’s why it’s important that the team and that the management and everyone But because I know…
Garbutt: “We are, all 100%. We hear anything like that again. We’re gone. We’ll, just walk off the pitch. That’s it. See ya.”
Interviewer: “If you could say something to that fan, what would you say?”
Garbutt: “He knew he knew he’d done it because he just got off straight away and he was gone.”
Mnoga: “There’s nothing stopping him sitting at home screaming at his TV when something like that happens again because it eradicates it from stadiums, but it doesn’t actually eradicate.”
Oluwo: “That’s why I wanna know whats behind it. What is the actual reasoning?”
Mnoga: “You’re almost in, like, disbelief. You kinda do feel, like, helpless if you can’t directly impact the situation. I take it personally it’s not nice, but I remember growing up my dad telling me about how he experienced that. And then I never really thought that I would. But then if I’m experienced, and obviously I’ve got a daughter who’s mixed race as well. So I almost fear for her to experience it as well.”
Gary Neville: “The instruction came to us that we had to use the word alleged within the statement, and the EFL was trying to use to keep that wording quite emphatically between the differences of that word coming out. Our players were racially abused, we’re going to say they were racially abused, and we don’t care about the impact, not including who were alleged. Understanding that police will follow and will have their own investigations.”
Paul Scholes: “We all know there’s no place for it, and you hope, you’d like to think it’s gone but it seems to always, something always seems to come up and happen and and surprise you. It’s the type of things that mean there needs to be a stance made and now the clubs will do them. We’ve done, Karl and players did the right thing to walk off.”
Karl: “The athlete can be treated with discipline. It can be treated with demand. It can be treated with love. It can be treated with so many multiple purposes because we’re here to win. But the human is treated in the most transparent and honest way you can for him and his family.”
Gary Neville: “Did absolutely the right thing. And if that happens again, wearing the Salford City badge or any other football club’s badge, we would want you to do exactly the same thing again.”
Karl: “The players, they know that people above us really stand alongside us when it comes to really important issues.”
Oluwo: “I think that togetherness is very important, and it will come in handy throughout the season.”
