- Bacuna reported hearing racial abuse during the clash last weekend
- A 50-year-old from Dudley in the West Midlands has now been arrested
- West Brom said they will issue a lifetime ban if anyone is found guilty of racism
Police have arrested a man over the alleged racist abuse of Birmingham City midfielder Juninho Bacuna during their 1-0 defeat to West Brom.
The alleged incident took place at The Hawthorns on Saturday, with West Brom also confirming they have suspended a season ticket holder.
Towards the end of the match, Bacuna reported to the officials that he had heard racist abuse from the Halfords Lane Stand.
Both West Brom and Birmingham City have now confirmed that a 50-year-old from Dudley has been arrested and questioned on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
However, West Midlands Police are appealing for witnesses to help investigate the incident.
West Brom have suspended a season ticket holder after Birmingham City midfielder Juninho Bacuna (centre, speaking to manager Tony Mowbray) reported that
A 50-year-old man has been arrested and questioned on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense following the alleged offense against blues star Bacuna (left)
Bacuna was also racially abused by a home fan when Birmingham beat Huddersfield earlier this season
Last October, Bacuna was racially abused by a home fan as Blues defeated Huddersfield at St Andrew’s and chairman Tom Wagner promised a lifetime ban for the individual.
After the game against West Brom, Blues boss Tony Mowbray confirmed Bacuna believed he had heard a racially charged comment, saying: “I was there when he informed the referee of some abuse. He wasn’t very happy and it’s sad because it’s not the first time this has happened to him.
‘As we know, it happened to Kasey Palmer from Coventry recently in Sheffield Wednesday. The consequences must be serious, so that people think twice about racially abusing others during a match.’
West Brom have now promised that anyone found guilty of racism will receive a lifelong ban.
In their statement they said: ‘The club continues to offer its full support to the West Midlands Police criminal investigation into this matter and remains in contact with Birmingham City to ensure Juninho Bacuna receives the support he needs.
The club takes a strong stance against all forms of discrimination and will do everything we can to ensure that anyone found guilty of racism receives the strongest possible penalty under the law, up to a lifetime ban from The Hawthorns.”
However, Birmingham’s Andre Dozzell has called for tougher punishments for fans who racially abuse players.
He said: “Everyone has come together and shown support for Bacca.
Bacuna’s teammate Andre Dozzell has called for tougher punishments for fans found guilty of racist abuse of players
‘But there’s no room for that in the game, so hopefully that will be resolved. I don’t think the penalties are harsh enough, they should be greater.
‘It’s a shame that this still happens today. It should be more than a lifetime ban on watching football. It wasn’t fun and this isn’t the first time. We are a close group and we all support him.’
West Midlands Police have asked people who saw or heard the incident to contact them via their website or by calling 101, quoting 20/197797/24.