Prince William 'deeply concerned' by Bradford junior football racism

The Prince of Wales has told a inferior shot nine successful Bradford helium is "deeply concerned" astir racist maltreatment its players person endured connected the pitch.

Mohammed Waheed, who coaches Alpha United Juniors, said players arsenic young arsenic 7 had been subjected to radical slurs and threats of violence.

He wrote to Kensington Palace claiming helium had raised the contented with the Football Association (FA) to nary avail.

Prince William said each those liable indispensable beryllium held to account.

The prince, who is president of the FA, said helium was "particularly saddened" to perceive astir "the effects this intolerable enactment tin person connected those who are simply wanting to play a crippled of football".

A missive to Mr Waheed from Prince William's backstage caput said the royal had raised Mr Waheed's concerns with the FA and asked them to "take the indispensable action".

The prince besides expressed his "sincere sorrow to anyone affected" and "profound enactment for each that you and the nine are doing to halt racism".

Mr Waheed wrote to him successful January and decided to stock his response, which was sent past month, arsenic helium was unhappy with West Riding FA's probe process.

He said Alpha United Juniors had reported "between 50 and 60 cases" of racism.

Player and manager Ateeb Hussain, 17, told the BBC helium had been racially abused "a lot" by absorption footballers, coaches and spectators.

He said helium felt "very uncomfortable with the words that are coming retired of their mouths".

Mr Waheed, who besides founded the club, said: "The aforesaid transgressions hap implicit and implicit again with nary accountability taken from the region FA.

"We've had galore clubs scope retired saying the nonstop aforesaid thing, truthful intelligibly there's a nonaccomplishment determination on the line."

The West Riding County FA said it condemned "any signifier of discrimination, whether successful shot oregon retired of it, and wherever it sits wrong our jurisdiction, we volition bash each we tin to bring perpetrators to account".

A spokesperson added: "We person received 2 referrals from Alpha this year, some of which are being investigated."