Rio Ferdinand has offered his take on the extraordinary situation unravelling at non-league side Barnet.
As exclusively revealed by the Mirror , the Bees' entire squad is locked in an ongoing row with the club over an allegation of racism against a staff member.
The incident is said to have occurred following last Saturday's National League game with Stockport County, when a Barnet employee allegedly called Stockport's Ryan Johnson a “monkey”.
The accused staff member was then allowed to be around the squad for training on Monday, despite pleas from the players which was led by captain Jamie Turley.
The club then suspended Turley, leading to threats of strike from the Barnet players - but after being told some contracts would be terminated if they refused to play, the squad made a reluctant u-turn.
Nevertheless, it has made for a messy situation at the club.
Now, former England and Manchester United defender Ferdinand has had his say on the turmoil.
He posted on Twitter, saying: "Can’t believe what I am reading… Club captain suspended for standing up against a racist incident involving his own staff member. Disgraceful from @BarnetFC."
On the threat of player strikes, Barnet chairman Anthony Kleanthous: “I have not spoken with the team at all and am not aware of any direct “termination” threat to the players.
“However, it is worth noting that the players are contracted under the standard FA playing contracts to participate in football matches, so I would assume that any threats not to play would be a breach of their contracts and would carry heavy sanctions from the National League.”
He added: "Jamie Turley has been suspended on full pay by HR at the Club following a separate internal complaint.
“This is standard staff disciplinary procedure and good practice to allow for the appropriate investigation to be carried out.
“To be clear, a suspension is not in and of itself a disciplinary action or a reflection of guilt, but rather allows the space for an investigation to be efficiently and thoroughly conducted without any third-party influence.”
On Tuesday, prior to their league game away at Southend, the club released a statement saying it was "aware of an incident of an alleged racist comment being made" during the Stockport game.
They say that an investigation was immediately carried out in full on the day.
They added: "The club is currently collating information for the FA to review in line with its regulatory responsibilities.
"The club would like to assure all those involved and all supporters that Barnet Football Club takes its social responsibilities very seriously and will always act with full integrity when investigating any matter. The Club takes a zero tolerance approach to any forms of discrimination or abuse and will always act swiftly and robustly to deal with any such behaviour."
Tuesday's game saw the Bees lose 2-1 away at Southend. It was a third straight defeat for Dean Brennan's side and they have now gone six games without a win.
The result leaves them 17th in the National League table, ten points above the relegation zone.
