Three Brighton fans facing bans over two separate racist incidents in matches against Spurs including Under-23 clash

THREE Brighton fans are facing lengthy bans and potential criminal charges after two separate incidents of racism during recent matches against Spurs.

The first involved two individuals attending the under-23 fixture against Tottenham on September 27.

They were ejected from the Amex and had their details passed on to Sussex Police for further investigation.

The second occurred at Saturday’s 3-0 win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side where the culprit was thrown out of the ground by stewards and arrested by cops on his exit.

Both incidents - neither of which are understood to be anti-Semitic - were reported directly to the club by fellow Albion fans attending the respective matches.

Seagulls chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber insisted the South Coast club have a zero-tolerance policy on racism or any kind of discrimination.

The former FA supremo said: “It’s very hard to comprehend why some individuals think it’s acceptable to behave in this way, but we are very clear that neither Brighton & Hove Albion, nor the wider football community, will tolerate racism or discrimination at any time, in any form.

“It is very encouraging that in both incidents our stewards were alerted to this totally unacceptable behaviour by other Albion fans and, working with Sussex Police, our staff were able to take swift action, which hopefully will increase the chances of a conviction.

“We do not want people exhibiting any kind of discriminatory or anti-social behaviour inside our stadium, and I would like to thank those Albion fans for reporting the incidents to us as soon as they heard it.

“We would urge any fans confronted with similar discriminatory behaviour to report it immediately, either directly to a steward or via our anonymous hotline, and we will take strong action.”