A FOOTBALL fan has been charged following an alleged racist incident during a Sunderland match.

A 52-year-old man was arrested and charged with a racially aggravated public order offence following an incident at the League One game at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.

The accused, who was a visiting fan, is due to appear before magistrates in South Derbyshire next month.

In a statement, Burton Albion reiterated the club’s “zero tolerance” approach to racism and said they were “fully committed to stamping out all forms of abuse”.

Chief Superintendent Sarah Pitt, of Northumbria Police, echoed the messages and is encouraging anybody who witnesses racism either at a football ground or anywhere else to report it to police.

“There is no place for racism in football,” Ch Supt Pitt said.

“The overwhelming majority of football fans in this region are well-behaved and among the most passionate supporters in the world, but we will not apologise for our tough stance and zero-tolerance approach against anybody found to be guilty of racist or disruptive behaviour.

“We would encourage any individual who witnesses any racist or offensive comments to report it to the nearest steward, police officer or to Kick It Out.

“We have already praised fans for their behaviour throughout last season and we look forward to building on this healthy relationship during the remainder of the 2018/19 season.”

Sunderland AFC’s head of safety, Steve Neill, said incidents of racism were rare and did not represent supporters or the club.

He added: “Sunderland’s travelling supporters attend away games in huge numbers.

"They have a tremendous reputation and only recently safety officials at Gillingham Town praised the behaviour of our fans, when 2,500 travelled for a Wednesday night game."

Andrew Hird, chairman of the Red & White Army supporters group, said: "There is no place in the game or society as a whole, for discriminatory behaviour.

"Football has improved a lot since the 70s and 80s, and while incidents of racist abuse are thankfully a much rarer occurrence these days, supporters have a duty not to become complacent about such behaviour."

And Ged Grebby, chief executive of Show Racism the Red Card, added: “Sunderland AFC has supported the work of Show Racism the Red Card for over twenty years.

"The club has always been pro-active and taken a zero-tolerance approach to racism and were one of the first ever clubs to get involved in anti-racism campaigns.

“Once again we will be working closely with the club throughout the season and will offer any support that we can to help tackle racism and educate against discriminatory behaviour.”