Former Crawley Town manager John Yems has had his ban for racist abuse doubled by the FA after an appeal.
Yems was originally banned for 17 months in January 2023 after being found guilty of using racial slurs against Black and Asian players, including making “offensive, racist and Islamophobic” comments under the guise of banter.
While Yems admitted to one charge and was found guilty of 11 other offences of racist abuse, a three-man independent commission found that he was “not consciously racist” at the time.
However, the FA challenged the decision, and it has now been determined that “some of the words and expressions used were inherently and obviously racist.”
The FA welcomed the decision and stated that it is the longest ban ever issued for discrimination in English football. Yems will now be banned from football for three years and will not be able to return until 2026. This decision sends a clear message that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated in football or any sport.
An FA spokesperson, “welcomed” the verdict and stated (via Daily Star):
“This is the longest ever ban issued to a participant in English football for discrimination. We strongly disagreed with their original sanction, as well as some of the elements of their judgement, which we fundamentally believed were not appropriate for the severity of the offences committed by John Yems.”