An angry Zindzi confronted a supporter and reported the alleged racism during England’s draw with Ghana. Thomas Tuchel’s side were supposed to open Group L with a 4-2 win over Croatia, but they were held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana at Boston Stadium on Tuesday.
But during the match, Angry Ginge (real name Morgan Birtwistle) encountered an allegedly racist fan sitting in front of him. In a video uploaded after the match, a Manchester United supporter said: “There’s a situation going on where the gentleman sitting there is a racist (points to the empty seat in front of him).”
“I reported it to the stewards, because the maxim is to kick him out, and I support that. So he’s going to go and get the manager now and we’ll see what happens. He’s never going to step foot in a stadium again or watch a football game again.”
A message appeared on the video that read: “The man sitting in front of me was making incredibly racist comments about the Ghanaian team. So it was only natural for me to stand up and address this.”
The 24-year-old then claimed he was told by stewards that no action could be taken unless the fan in question commented again. He said: ‘Apparently the stewards said they couldn’t kick him out unless he did it again.
“I said there’s no way on Earth. We’ve all heard it. He has to go. So we’re getting a team together to get him out now or something.”
YouTube content creators have not revealed what the supporters said, but in the video they can be seen turning around and apologizing for their comments. “I’m sorry about my comments about Ghana. Something like this will never happen again,” he said.
“Can I just forget?” to which Birtwistle responded, “Just forget that I’m a racist!? No, dude.”
Birtwistle then claimed in a video that although fans were eventually removed from their seats, they were simply moved to another part of the stadium to watch the rest of the game. “The pre-game message from the American stewards is definitely not enough. It’s a message to kick them out of the game. If you see them, say it,” he said.
“I went and reported it, but he was not kicked out of the stadium. I saw him when we were leaving. After he made a comment about the Ghana team, he was allowed to watch the entire match.”
“I think it is an utter disgrace that he was allowed to stay despite the fact that I had the evidence and five witnesses heard what he had to say.
“This is an absolute disgrace. It’s wrong on every level for him to stay and get away with it. I did my part. I couldn’t have done more.”
