A 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a racially-aggravated public order offence during Hartlepool's National League clash with Dover on Saturday, Cleveland Police has confirmed.
Officers are continuing their efforts to identify further people involved in an incident in which several players, including Pools' Gus Mafuta, were allegedly racially abused as Dover's Inih Effiong celebrated in front of a section of the home fans after opening the scoring with a 37th-minute penalty.
A 60-year-old man has also been reported for summons after allegedly making his way on to the pitch during a stormy encounter which saw the home side have Ryan Donaldson and Nicky Featherstone sent off and manager Craig Hignett banished to the stands.
A 43 yr old man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated public order during the Hartlepool v Dover match on Saturday. A 60 yr old man was also reported for summons after he allegedly encroached the pitch during the game. Read more here:https://t.co/RBWNNfUHII — Cleveland Police UK (@ClevelandPolice) September 23, 2019
A police statement read: "A 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order during the Hartlepool v Dover football match on Saturday. He has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.
"And a 60-year-old man was reported for summons after he allegedly encroached the pitch during the game.
"Cleveland Police continues to work with managers and players from both clubs as our inquiries continue and officers expect to identify more people in relation to the alleged racist incidents and disorder.
"We would reiterate that racist behaviour and other disorder at football matches is completely unacceptable and we work with football clubs across the UK, as well as the wider community, on this issue.
"The force will use all available tools including football banning orders to deal robustly with the small minority who persist in taking part in deal with the minority who take part in this behaviour."
