Premier League: Everton become first club to ban a supporter for racist and homophobic tweets

On 22/06/2014, Everton FC became the first Premier League club to ban a fan for racist and homophobic comments posted on Twitter. The fan, who had used an email address linked to his Twitter account to contact the club, is banned from attending Everton matches until further notice.

These tweets "specifically appear to target Ric Wee [a Malaysian supporter of the club] but regardless of whom the intended target is such comments are offensive and abhorrent. (...) Everton Football Club do not welcome those who display such homophobic and racist views," said Dave Lewis, the director of security, in a letter to the banned supporter.

• Everton Club are part of the Football v Homophobia movement, which is composed of 31 English professional clubs, including 12 from the Premier League.
• This movement organises programmes to raise awareness of football-related discrimination linked to homosexuality as well as information days and special activities during matches.