Shaq Forde: Bristol Rovers ‘furious’ by racist abuse towards player

“Shaq is not the only Bristol Rovers player to experience racist abuse, with an incident only being investigated last week.

“Even more sickening is that some of these messages come from individuals claiming to be Bristol Rovers supporters. Each time the club has tried to do the right thing.”

The incident took place just days after Luton Town striker Elijah Adebayo was the victim of racist abuse sent to him by an Instagram user after the Hatters lost 2-1 to Sunderland in the Championship.

Bristol Rovers said the ‘old methods of ‘fighting’ racism, the ‘carefully crafted press releases and saturated social media posts’ are ‘not working’.

The club statement added: “Our supporters – our true supporters – are fed up with being associated in any way with those ‘fans’ who leisurely send such disgusting messages.

“To the person who sent Shaq this racist message, and to anyone who claims to be a Gashead and engages in similar deplorable behavior, we simply say this: you are not a Bristol Rovers fan. You are not welcome at The Memorial Stadium. We don’t want your support.”

Opponents Reading also expressed their support for Forde, saying they “strongly condemn” the abuse heaped upon him.

“We will work with Saturday’s visitors to ensure the perpetrator is identified and evidence is provided to the relevant authorities,” a spokesperson said. Royal declaration, external said.

“No individual, on or off the field, should be subjected to such abuse. We stand with you, Shaq.”