Electric City Football Club Supporters, The Current 1819, Back In the Stands This Saturday
/After an investigation of an alleged racial slur committed on Electric City Football Club’s (ECFC) supporter group ‘The Current 1819’ on June 15, are returning to the stands for this Saturday’s men’s game against the Woodbridge Strikers.
The Current 1819 enter the stands to drum beats and smoke bombs prior to each ECFC home game kickoff. Photo by Luke Best.
The team issued a statement regarding the 1819’s return as League1 Ontario as completed their investigation.
“Electric City FC is excited to welcome back The Current 1819 to Fleming Field for this weekend’s Men’s ECFC match against Woodbridge Strikers as the team makes a push for the playoffs!
We thank them for their support and co-operation during the investigation which is now complete with an official statement expected by the League and both Clubs next week. We also want to thank The Current 1819 leadership and its members for working with us to ensure we are creating a positive, enjoyable and exciting ECFC game-day experience for all.” - Electric City Football Club
The incident occurred during a women’s game against the Simcoe County Rovers FC when a member of 1819 allegedly hurled a racial slur at the opposing team’s goalkeeper.
Several players have condemned the supposed actions and say that racism has no place in the sport in prior interviews. During the first 12 seconds of the following men’s match on June 22, ECFC, BVB IA Waterloo and the officials took a knee in silent protest of the incident and display a sign of unity.
“That's a very serious matter, very sensitive and I stand with my fellow teammates collectively,” said Ethan Gopaul, ECFC forward. “There's no place for that here and we both agree that it's very important that it's made clear that we both support that.”
“We pretty much wanted to show both on and off the field that there's no tolerance for that," said Josh Panello, ECFC defender. "Collectively as a group, that's one of the best ways to show it is in front of our home fans.”
The supporters released a statement a day after the controversial game.
“The Current 1819 set out from the start to be an inclusive group of passionate football supporters. Our goal is to create an environment that our players feel supported in, and visiting teams dread coming to, because they know we are the 12th person for our team.
However, there is a line. We strongly condemn any acts of racism or bigotry.
The code of conduct that covers fan behaviour at Fleming Stadium was co-created by Electric City FC and the Current. Any individual members found to be in violation will be asked to leave the group and supporters' end of the stadium. This has been our policy from the first home match. None of our members, or any of the security staff present in our section were aware of any racist language from the Current last night. The Current will be giving our full support to the club and League One Ontario in all investigations about last night's allegations, as racism has no home in football.” - David Barney, The Current 1819
