Shrewsbury ‘disgusted’ as Charlton fan arrested over alleged racial abuse of goalkeeper

An incident involving Shrewsbury’s Marko Marosi and a Charlton Athletic fan resulted in play being stopped at the Valley and the supporter in question being thrown off the ground

Shrewsbury Town say they are “disgusted” after racist abuse was allegedly hurled at their player Marko Marosi on Saturday.

An incident involving the goalkeeper resulted in a stoppage of play during Shrewsbury’s League One Away game at Charlton Athletic on Saturday. Marosi was defending a goal in front of Charlton fans when referee Sam Purkiss stopped play.

The person involved was thrown off the ground and Charlton has said they are assisting the police in their investigation. A club statement from Shrewsbury said: “Shrewsbury Town Football Club is disgusted to hear reports of the alleged heinous racial abuse suffered by Marko Marosi during Town’s Sky Bet League One match against Charlton Athletic.

“The club is pleased that Marko immediately reported the abuse to the game officials and quickly pointed out the perpetrator. We hope that the person will be informed and treated appropriately. Shrewsbury Town would like to stress that this is an isolated case and does not reflect the good, loyal Charlton Athletic fan base.

“We hope the person learns that this heinous verbal abuse will not be tolerated anywhere in football or in any walk of life. Shrewsbury Town stands together against discrimination and we stand by Marko. We will give Marko any support he needs and we will do everything in our power to ensure this incident is dealt with appropriately.”

A statement from Charlton said: “One person has been arrested by police and is in custody. The club supports the police in their investigations. The club has a zero tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination. We have a long history of promoting equality and fighting discrimination. Discrimination has no place in this club and in football.”

Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill condemned the abuse. After the game, which Charlton won 2-0, he told reporters: “Something was said. He (Marosi) had yelled something, I’m not ready to repeat that on camera because if I repeated it, it would be very insulting and everyone would say, “Why did he say what he said ?”

“It was very offensive, certainly not up to date at this moment with what’s going on in the world. It’s not contemporary – and getting his nationality right would also be handy. He’s fine. It’s not a nice thing to happen to him today, I don’t know if it’s the first time in his career that’s happened to him.”

Cotterill continued: “You can’t legislate for a few fools in the crowd. Charlton Athletic was a real club. I don’t think Marko will be charging, I think it’s probably for the best if he lets it go otherwise he’ll be targeted. It was more about getting the person out for what he said to Marko. That’s just not acceptable these days.

“Unfortunately then it reflects on the good people at Charlton Athletic and their club. It shouldn’t and hopefully it won’t.”

Addicks boss Johnnie Jackson said of the incident: “He (referee) said there was an incident in the crowd. The goalkeeper made an allegation and they have to deal with it. As far as I know about it.

“Obviously it’s a sensitive situation and matter so it’s probably best not to speculate. The club will look at this and deal with it at their discretion. I believe it was an allegation of racism. That’s what the referee said. “