A Manchester City fan was arrested recently on claims that he made monkey gestures at Manchester United star Fred. The 41 years old army veteran said he was not a racist and was merely putting his hands in his pants, Daily Mail reports. The recent match between Manchester United and Manchester City was tainted with allegations that Manchester City supporters racially abused Fred.
Anthony Burke is a 41 years old Army veteran from Manchester who was seen during the Manchester United and Manchester City match to be motioning towards the Brazilian footballer in monkey gestures. However, the former soldier and father, who served in Northern Ireland with the Cheshire regiment denied the accusation against him. In a Facebook post, Burke said that he is only racist because people had a screenshot that made him look like one.
However I ain't racist, watch the match half of it was me with me putting my hands in my pants. He added: Bullsh** not ar*** I know the true and I've already made appointment to speak to the police which I did so think what you like.
According to Burke's former partner, the 41 years old Manchester City fan was arrested recently, says MailOnline. Greater Manchester Police also confirmed that they remanded a 41 years old male in custody, but they would not reveal his identity. However, Amy, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, shared that Burke was with the police and told MailOnline that she and her kids received death threats following the incident.
We have been inundated with reports of alleged racist abuse from a number of individuals during this evening's Manchester Derby. We will be contacting both clubs to offer our support and hope swift action is taken to identify the offenders. — Kick It Out (@kickitout) December 7, 2019
Kier Group, the company where Burke worked for as a civil engineering manager, shared through a post on Twitter that the Manchester City fan has been suspended pending an investigation. During the Manchester derby, players were targeted with a racist slur and had been thrown at with objects by Manchester City fans during the Premier League match held at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester United stars Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young shared their sentiments about the incident at Etihad. Fred has been struck by a water bottle, and lighters were thrown at him by some Manchester City fans. He was seen later clutching his neck when he went to take a corner kick just after the hour mark.
Can’t beat a derby win. Stood up to EVERYTHING thrown at us & got what we deserved. Manchester = pic.twitter.com/al5nnmkCd3 — Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) December 7, 2019
Racism has no place in football or in society & we are providing support to our players who were impacted yesterday. We will continue to combat & educate against racism & discrimination, both through our own #allredallequal initiative & our support of football-wide campaigns. pic.twitter.com/xnUzDPiwIE — Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2019
