Bristol Rovers have confirmed they are investigating alleged sexist abuse of one of their staff members at Barnsley's Oakwell ground on Tuesday night.
In a statement Rovers say they have contacted Barnsley after a female member of staff was targeted by offensive chanting by a section of the crowd during the League One fixture.
"The club is aware of an abusive and derogatory chant made by a section of the home crowd towards a female member of our staff at Tuesday’s Sky Bet League One game at Barnsley Football Club," the statement read. "Bristol Rovers does not condone this behaviour and is against derogatory language used towards any member of our staff, or anyone for that matter.
"Football is a game for everyone and it is our responsibility to help tackle sexism and champion the inclusion of women in sport.
"We have made contact with Barnsley Football Club to raise our concerns about these chants from a section of their crowd. We feel this is an issue that needs investigating further to prevent it happening again.
"Bristol Rovers will cooperate and assist with Barnsley Football Club and the relevant authorities to support them with any investigation into this incident and we support the recent launch of the EFL Together campaign to champion equality, diversity and inclusion."
The chant was first audible in the second half during Rovers’ 3-0 defeat and was so loud and clear they were picked up on the iFollow coverage of the game leading to a number of complaints from fans. The matter has also been debated on social media with one supporter revealing it was heard by his 14-year-old daughter.
Rovers and Barnsley are both partnered with #HerGameToo, the campaign group fighting sexism in the game with Gasheads Caz May and Lucy Ford among their founding members.
Upon announcing the partnership in December 2021, a statement from Barnsley read: “Discrimination of any kind is a rarity at Oakwell, but by supporting this campaign, we continue our strong stance against hate and abuse in the hope that fans of all ages see Oakwell and the Barnsley FC digital community as a safe and inclusive environment.”
Article 10 of the EFL’s Ground Regulations state: “Racial, homophobic or discriminatory abuse, chanting or harassment is strictly forbidden and will result in arrest and/or ejection from the Ground. The club may impose a ban for one or more matches.”
Last week the Tykes ended their their brief partnership with front-of-shirt sponsor HEX.com following the emergence of homophobic tweets from people who the head of the cryptocurrency firm had said helped broker the deal.
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