Hull City investigating homophobic abuse of their own player during Blackpool game

The club’s Supporters’ Trust has claimed homophobic abuse was used towards Hull’s Ryan Longman by some fans in the away end at Bloomfield Road.

Longman was on the scoresheet for the Tigers during their 3-1 win.

A statement from the Trust read: “A great win for the Tigers on the road at Blackpool, hopefully the start of things to come.

“Sadly, this impressive victory has been overshadowed by confirmed reports we are receiving of homophobic abuse aimed at Ryan Longman by our own fans!!

“The Trust finds this kind of abuse, along with online abuse, totally unacceptable and would urge all true fans to stand up against it.

“There were 364 of us there and someone must know who the abuser was. If you do know them, please make it clear to them that it is not acceptable.

“The incident has been reported to Blackpool FC so we will see what action is taken.

“Although not so prevalent with Hull City, player abuse in sport continues to increase and has become such an issue that UEFA has launched a campaign #realscars to highlight the effect that abuse has on players who, after all, are just people trying to do their job to the best of their ability.

“If we want our team to improve then we need to stand behind them, encourage them and support them, even when the players, the staff or the team are going through a tough period. Thank you.”

The club has since confirmed they are looking into the incident.

A statement read: “Hull City will not tolerate abuse of any kind targeted at players, staff or supporters. We have been made aware of incidents which took place at the Blackpool match on Wednesday evening and are investigating accordingly.

“If you have any information relating to this matter, or similar incidents in the future, please report it by emailing [email protected].

“Supporters can report incidents of discriminatory and anti-social behaviour on home matchdays by using our free text messaging service. Please text the word HULL followed by details of the issue and where it occurred to 60066. All texts will be treated in the strictest confidence.”