Hundreds sign petition backing Gillingham Town FC
The Football Club's entered a not guilty plea over claims it broke FA rules.
Hundreds of people are backing Gillingham Town Football Club's decision to walk off the pitch earlier this month.
The move was done in response to racial abuse targeted at one of the players, and it has resulted in a charge by the Football Association who claim they broke rules.
The charge sent to the club reads: "Failed to ensure players and/ or officials and/ or spectators conducted themselves in an orderly fashion".
If found guilty the club could be fined up to £150.
The club's entered a 'not guilty' plea and is asking the association for a hearing instead, which could take place in the next month.
700 people are backing a petition to have the charge reversed though, calling it an 'appalling decision'.
Paul Hill, secretary of Gillingham Town FC said:
"We were quite astonished. I'm amazed. Some of those are our supporters but I think most are people who've seen what's going on and think it's wrong.
"Normally for a reserves game, Dorset Senior League, you might get 10, 15 spectators. So to have so many people backing us is quite amazing.
"A number of people have actually sent us comments from Bridport to say how impressed they are with how the team handled the situation."
An FA spokesperson said:
“The FA stands firmly against all forms of prejudice and we take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously. We encourage all participants who believe that they have been the subject of, or witness to, discriminatory abuse to report it through the appropriate channels: The FA, our County FA network or via our partners at Kick It Out, so incidents can be thoroughly investigated.
"We will always take the strongest possible action against those proven to be discriminatory within a football setting and we continue to do our utmost to challenge these behaviours within our game.”
You can find the petition here.