Pardew 'sorry' for Mido racial abuse

Jason Burt
Thursday 24 November 2005 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

West Ham United have apologised to the Tottenham Hotspur striker Mido for the racist abuse the Egyptian suffered when the two sides met last weekend.

Alan Pardew, the West Ham manager, said: "This was not called for. It is not the image we want to set."

Pardew said that he wanted to apologise for the actions of a few who aimed abuse at Mido because he is a Muslim. He said it was especially important as West Ham are "in the middle of a multi-racial community".

Pardew added: "We want to portray ourselves as a good young team with good fans. Our fans are brilliant. So those little things are not nice. I apologise."

The Football Association has already said it will write to both clubs to ask for their observations before taking any further action, with Martin Jol, the Spurs head coach, reacting angrily, saying it was "tasteless".

Pardew, meanwhile, said he would not dismiss the idea of bringing Roy Keane to West Ham, although he added that he had not explored the possibility. "I would not close the door on bringing a player of his stature to the club," Pardew said of the 34-year-old, who is now a free agent.

West Ham face Manchester United at Upton Park on Sunday and Pardew said he believed it "is not a bad time to play them" because of the pressure they are under to pick up points and the disruption caused by Keane's abrupt departure.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in