American Football Varsity match abandoned after King’s player allegedly used racial slur on pitch

An American Football Varsity match between KCL and UCL was called off midway through after a racial slur was allegedly used by a King’s player.

An insider source revealed to The Tab King’s that a King’s Regents’ player called a UCL Emperors’ player a “n****r” during the game that took place on Monday 18th March.

The student players of UCL Emperors refused to continue with the match unless the KCL player was removed from the field of play but as this was not done the game was suspended.

A source told The King’s Tab: “One of KCL’s players allegedly said a word that starts with N to one of UCL’s and UCL refused to come back on the pitch until the KCL player in question was removed from the game. KCL refused and so the game was called off.”

When the two teams left the field after the second quarter, the UCL Emperors decided they would not be returning to the field unless the KCL Regents’ player was removed from play as they “did not feel comfortable continuing the game” with him still on the pitch. 

However, KCL Regents allegedly “refused” and insisted on not having the player removed so the referee was left with no choice but to suspend the game at halftime. 

King’s College London Students’ Union has told The Tab King’s that it is now investigating the incident with UCLSU branding it as “shocking” and something it “never expected to happen.”

Speaking to The King’s Tab about the incident, president of UCL Emperors, Archie Graham, said whilst his team were “disappointed”, he is “proud” of his players for “standing against racism.”

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“In light of KCLs refusal to remove their player for use of racials slurs, our players decided they did not feel comfortable continuing the game. American Football as a sport thrives as a result of diversity and UCL is committed to the principles of inclusion and integrity and will not tolerate racism on the field otherwise.

“We are disappointed the event was unable to be continued however I am proud of our players for collectively standing against racism,” Archie told The Tab King’s.

Neither the KCL or the UCL American Football team has posted on social media about score lines from the match that took place on the final day of the Varsity Series.

The match was a part of the annual London Varsity Series between fierce rivals KCL and UCL. Previous results had included wins for both UCL’s men and women’s hockey teams (3-1 and 3-2 respectively), and wins for KCL in men’s football and swimming.

University College London Students’ Union told The Tab King’s in full: “This was a shocking incident and something we would never expect to happen at a Varsity match. Our team were right to request the offending player be removed, and right to refuse to continue the match. We fully support KCLSU to swiftly investigate this incident and deal with it through the appropriate process.”

A spokesperson for KCLSU told The King’s Tab: “KCLSU has recently been informed that an incident occurred at the London Varsity Series American Football fixture between UCL and KCL on Monday 18th March, which resulted in the match being suspended.

“KCLSU is currently investigating the incident. Once we have completed our investigation we hope to provide further information.”

Update: KCL Regents President provides comment claiming the incident is ‘completely false’

Omid Zarei, President of KCL Regents, told The King’s Tab: “A UCL player called a KCL player a ‘bitch’ after tackling him. The UCL player was penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct then he, from thin air, said ‘he said the N word!’ This accusation was completely false however was taken very seriously (rightly so).

“As I’m sure he knows, you can’t just accuse someone of being racist from nothing so, instead of admitting that he made it up, he simply continued with the lie until the UCL vice president spoke to me and said they refuse to play until we removed the player they accused of saying the slur.

“I myself said no because doing so would mean that I am admitting that my player said the slur. I know for a fact he didn’t since not only was I merely 10 yards away from them the whole time.

“It is absolutely unacceptable to falsely accuse someone of something so abhorrent. The KCL Regents are one of the most diverse BUCS teams in the country and are extremely proud of that. Furthermore, our coaching staff is made up of mostly people from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds and so if they, for a moment, thought that the accusation was true they would be the first to admit it.

“I am truly disgusted by the false accusations and as a person of colour (who has experienced racism first hand) I think false accusations are one of the most horrible things you can put someone through.

“Overall, as the President, as a person of colour, and as a human being I am appalled at these false accusations and I look forward to when the investigation rightly proves our player innocent and holds the UCL player accountable for his shameful conduct and lack of self accountability.”

Featured image via kclregents on Instagram.

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