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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mike Walters

Adebayo Akinfenwa responds to depraved chants from MK Dons fans amid promised crackdown

Managers will be allowed to take their players off the pitch in protest at the plague of a vile chant sweeping the country.

As Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa went into full 'Beast' mode after MK Dons dunces made him the latest target of the scurrilous refrain, football authorities promised a “swift and aggressive” crackdown.

Chairboys boss Gareth Ainsworth was so upset by the filth aimed at Akinfenwa that he was going to call his team off the field if the chanting had not stopped.

MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman offered to go on the pitch with a microphone and appeal directly to away fans dredging the pond life songbook.

Akinfenwa, 39, accepted personal apologies from Winkelman and manager Liam Manning after the Dons' 1-0 win on Saturday, but the scourge of an obnoxious chant is by no means limited to one fanbase.

Adebayo Akinfenwa poses for photographs with fans after the match (PA Wire/PA Images)

EFL bosses are so alarmed by the spread of the morons' chorus that they have warned supporters who recycle it face prosecution by the police and bans from attending football grounds.

The chant is so vulgar and backward – not to mention defamatory – that Mirror Sport cannot reproduce it.

But Akinfenwa – a powerful striker none of the gobby 'fans' would be brave enough to confront with such verbal sewage in the street – raged: “Enough is enough. For some reason this chant has come about.

"I first heard of it two games ago against Oxford. They started it against the gaffer, then my name, then it was heard again at Morecambe and we reported it.

"I can take a joke, but that's not a joke. I'm all for entertainment. I can take 'bants' (banter). But there were kids here. I want to know where this trend has come from.

"The reason I went up there was for people who can't put that on their shoulders. Now I want it to get nipped in the bud. It's not a trend, it's not funny. The chant they are using is no banter.

Enough is enough: Akinfenwa was outraged by sick taunts (Leila Coker/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"Whatever the authorities need to do to shut it down should be done.

"As long as no other player has to hear this when their are kids there, it can be shut down. I can take it on my shoulders but enough is enough."

League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan said: “I was not aware of this problem, but I hope there is a unified, swift and aggressive response to stamp it out quickly.

“I would support any stakeholder in the game – a manager, a chief executive, a club – who makes a stand against unacceptable behaviour.”

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth was prepared to take his players off the pitch (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

On a dark day for football, assistant referee Paul Stonier was hit on the head by a missile during Rotherham's 2-0 win at Crewe, while West Brom fans threw flares on the pitch during the Baggies' defeat at Millwall.

The EFL has issued a powerful statement denouncing the weekend's rotten behaviour, saying: “Following multiple incidents of inappropriate and reckless crowd behaviour on Saturday, we will work with the relevant authorities and clubs to ensure those responsible are held to account.

“Any form of anti-social behaviour is unacceptable and our message is simple – those intent on causing trouble are not welcome at our matches and we ask you to stay away.

“Anyone found to be behaving offensively at a football match can expect to be dealt with by the police and the club, who will continue to work closely with supporter groups to address the causes of violence from individual fans and will always support prosecutions when that is the appropriate course of action to take.”

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