Prominent social media figure Morgan Burtwistle, known online as Angry Ginge, has stated he has been subjected to online abuse following his attempt to report racist behaviour at an England football match. Burtwistle, who recently won I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, alleges he witnessed a man making racist remarks aimed at the Ghanaian national team during Tuesday's game against England at Boston Stadium.
In a YouTube video posted on Thursday, Burtwistle, 24, from Salford, described the incident, stating, "The man sat in front was making incredibly racist comments towards the Ghanaian national team. Due to this, it was only right for me to stand up and deal with this." He further criticised the stewards' response, claiming they informed him they 'can't kick him out' and that the individual remained in the stadium for the entire match, despite multiple witnesses corroborating the racist remarks.
Burtwistle expressed his profound disappointment with the stewards' actions, particularly given the prevalent 'Kick It Out' anti-racism campaigns in football. He remarked, "Absolutely not good enough from the American stewards, the message before the games at football is kick it out, if you see it, say it." He added that he was told the man would only be removed if he made another racist comment, a policy Burtwistle described as "ridiculous."
Following his public account of the incident, Burtwistle posted on Instagram, sharing screenshots of what he described as abusive and threatening comments he had received online. His caption read: "Standing up to racism gets you this? What a world we live in." The incident highlights ongoing concerns about racism within football and the effectiveness of measures in place to combat it, both within stadiums and online.
FIFA has been contacted for comment regarding the alleged incident at Boston Stadium and the stewarding response. The situation has reignited discussions among fans and anti-racism organisations about accountability for racist behaviour at sporting events and the need for robust protocols to ensure such incidents are dealt with swiftly and decisively.