Women’s team told ‘you don’t belong here’ by teens hurling racist slurs at football pitch

A women’s football club which received an onslaught of racist abuse at a park in Islington has vowed not to let the incident stop them from playing.

Screamer Alliance WFC is an amateur football team and support group for Chinese people living in London which was set up early last year.

They’ve played at various pitches across London, and had been considering contacting Islington council to find out if they could organise a longer-term arrangement in Barnard Park – until they faced vile racist abuse on Saturday.

The team, who had booked and paid for use of the pitch, were confronted by a group of up to 20 teenage boys and young men who wouldn’t leave the pitch.

Police were called after one of them kicked a ball at a Screamer Alliance player’s head, leaving them shaken – but Ricky Lin, the team’s manager, has vowed they will try to turn a negative situation into a positive one.

She wasn’t at the match herself, as she was recovering from the flu, but received a call from her team during what should have been an ordinary training session.

‘We had booked the pitch from 3-4pm, there were still some children’s games ongoing so we waited until they were all wrapped up,’ Ricky told Metro.

‘Then a group of teenagers refused to leave, we told them we had a booking, they called me and asked me to send them the booking confirmation.

‘They tried to show them, but the boys were saying “you can’t read English, you’re not English”.

‘They only got started at about 3.20pm, they got out the cones and started getting on with it but never managed to get the full pitch back because the boys kept playing.’

Throughout the session the players say the group of boys hurled racist and sexist abuse at them, using slurs and saying they ‘don’t belong here’.

The situation escalated once their booking ended at 4pm, despite the pitches being designated as ‘free play’ from that point on, open to anyone without having to book.

Ricky explained: ‘They hadn’t finished, they were in the middle of a game, but the group of boys started screaming and saying “your time’s up”, their behaviour became very aggressive.

‘They started to kick balls, targeting the girls. Our coach tried to tell them to please stop, she tried to protect the team and stay strong but that escalated the situation.

‘One of the girls, the ball hit her head and she fell and cried, and that’s the moment they got the police involved.’

Officers arrived at the scene and the team were able to finish their training under their supervision, before they went to the police station to give statements about what happened.

The incident was initially classified as antisocial behaviour, Ricky said, but by Sunday it had been reclassified as a hate crime.

One of the team members shared her experience in a post on the London subreddit, which has since received more than 3,500 upvotes and nearly 500 comments.

Ricky says she and the rest of Screamer Alliance feel appreciative of the outpouring of support – and they are determined to play at Barnard Park again, having booked the pitch for the same time this Saturday, September 6.

Ricky told Metro: ‘It made us feel like we’re not alone, it’s not only bullies out there, there are more of us who are respectful.

‘Our experience sent a horrible message, but what we’ve experienced after wards sends a totally different message – there are more good people out there who want to help us.

‘I don’t want what happened to discourage the girls, to make them think football isn’t for them or it’s not safe.

‘It’s very important we can play safely there next time to make them feel like they’re not scared.’

After sharing the team’s experience on their Instagram page, Ricky said other women’s football teams had reached out to share their own negative experiences.

Screamer Alliance has had two other negative experiences since the team formed, one at Rosemary Garden Park in Islington last year and one at Castle Haven in Camden earlier this year.

Ricky is concerned that the abuse they face appears to be escalating, and will be meeting with Islington council on Friday to discuss how the park could be safer for all people trying to play football in peace.

Whether that comes from additional security from police patrols or CCTV cameras, education outreach about racism in local schools, or an improvement in local youth offerings to keep young people off the streets and out of trouble, she’s keen to help however she can.

‘This particular incident was about race, but it could be about anyone, and we’re very keen to recover from our frustration and upset to turn it into action for the future,’ Ricky told Metro.

‘We want to make this park a safe place for everyone.

‘We’re encouraging other teams to come along to the free play – whoever is willing to share the pitch with respect and peace to come along and use it.’

Islington councillor Rowena Champion, executive member for environment, said: ‘We are shocked and deeply disappointed to hear of the racist abuse experienced by members of Screamer Alliance Women’s Football Club.

‘Islington is a diverse borough, and we are dedicated to a more equal Islington where all our communities can enjoy the benefits of staying active and playing sports.

‘We have been in touch with the team to express our support and are meeting with them this week. To provide reassurance, we have arranged extra security for Barnard Park and are supporting the team with their bookings.

‘We are so sorry that the team have experienced this horrible incident and want to reiterate that hate has no place in Islington.’

Metro has contacted the Metropolitan Police for more information

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