Van-Tam vows to fight abuse in grassroots football
PA- Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam is chair of the Lincolnshire FA
- He said there have been 51 incidents of abuse at games so far this season
- He will lobby the national FA for a change in the rules to hold individuals accountable
The new chair of Lincolnshire Football Association (FA) has criticised "disgusting" behaviour from players, coaches and parents.
Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam told BBC Radio Lincolnshire there has been an increase in racist, sexist and homophobic abuse in grassroots football in the county and has pledged to tackle it.
He said that already this season there had been 51 cases of discrimination.
"It's disgusting and it's wrecking our game," he said.
"It's made worse when you realise that the vast majority of perpetrators are adults and a lot of it is directed at our referee community.
Sir Jonathan said he had witnessed incidents while watching his sons play.
He wants a change in national FA rules so that the individuals involved are sanctioned for bad behaviour, rather than clubs.
"I'm going to try and convince the FA that actually all parents and spectators, certainly in the under 18s game, need to be seen as activate participants and therefore directly subject to personal bans and so forth."
PABoston United supporter Sir Jonathan took on his new voluntary role with the FA last summer.
As England's former deputy chief medical officer he became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was knighted in 2022 for his public health work.
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