The National League side have suspended captain Jamie Turley after leading protests against a Barnet staff member accused of racism during a league game last weekend
Rio Ferdinand has offered his take on the extraordinary situation unfolding at non-league Barnet.
As revealed exclusively the mirror the entire Bees squad is locked in an ongoing row with the club over an allegation of racism against a member of staff.
The incident reportedly happened after last Saturday’s National League game with Stockport County, when a Barnet employee allegedly called Stockport’s Ryan Johnson a “monkey”.
The accused member of staff was then allowed into the squad for training on Monday, despite pleas from players managed by captain Jamie Turley.
The club then suspended Turley, leading to strike threats from Barnet players – but after learning that some contracts would be terminated if they refused to play, the team reluctantly backed down.
Nonetheless, it created a messy situation at the club.
Now former England and Manchester United defender Ferdinand has had his say in the turmoil.
He posted on Twitter, saying: “Can’t believe what I’m reading…Club captain suspended for speaking out against a racist incident involving his own member of staff. This is disgraceful of @ Barnet FC.”
On the threat of player strikes, Barnet chairman Anthony Kleanthous: “I haven’t spoken with the team at all and I’m not aware of any direct threat of ‘termination’ against the players.
“However, it should be noted that the players are contracted under standard FA playing contracts to appear in football matches, so I suspect any threat not to play would be a breach of their contracts and result in heavy penalties from the National League.”
He added: “Jamie Turley has been suspended with full salary by Club HR following a separate internal complaint.
“This is standard staff disciplinary procedure and good practice to enable a proper investigation to be carried out.
“To be clear, a suspension is not in itself a disciplinary action or a reflection of guilt, but rather allows for an effective and thorough investigation to be carried out without any influence from third parties.”
On Tuesday, ahead of their League game at Southend, the club released a statement saying they were “aware of an incident of alleged racist commentary” during the Stockport game.
They say an investigation was immediately carried out in full the same day.
They added: “The club is currently gathering information for the FA to review in accordance with its regulatory responsibilities.
“The club would like to assure everyone involved and all supporters that Barnet Football Club takes its social responsibilities very seriously and will always act with complete integrity when investigating. The club takes a zero-tolerance approach to against any form of discrimination or abuse and will always act quickly and decisively to deal with such behavior.”
Tuesday’s game saw the Bees lose 2-1 at Southend. It was a third straight loss for Dean Brennan’s team and they have now gone six games without a win.
The result leaves them 17th in the National League standings, ten points above the relegation zone.
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