BBC viewers appalled after hearing abhorrent abuse by fan during match

BBC viewers were left appalled when they heard Colchester United goalkeeper Shamal George being abused by a fan during his side's 4-0 win at AFC Sudbury in the FA Cup.

Cameras picked up a fan hurling abuse at George with viewers hearing the apparent slur over television microphones during the first-round proper tie.

Ex- Liverpool stopper George says the victory was "ruined" by the incident, and it was initially feared he had been subjected to racist abuse.

In a video posted on social media, the 23-year-old's save was followed by a male voice shouting insults at George, though BBC staff confirmed it was not discriminatory.

Many voiced their disgust on social media, but AFC Sudbury have since worked with BBC sound engineers to clarify the abuse was not racist in nature, while the club still condemned the fan's actions.

Colchester goalkeeper Shamal George was allegedly racially abused during the game in scenes live on TV

A statement from chairman Andrew Long read: "AFC Sudbury would like to confirm that, following extensive analysis from BBC Sound engineers who managed to isolate the incident on audio, that the alleged 'racist abuse' did NOT in fact contain any racial element.

"It is however clearly abusive in nature and the club will deal with this is the strongest possible manner.

"We would like to publicly state that AFC Sudbury condemns abuse of ANY kind and any visitor to the club who uses language or behaviour of this kind will be banned indefinitely from the football club.

"We are proud of our reputation as a family community club and know that anybody associated with AFC Sudbury in whatever capacity will join in this condemnation."

English football's prestigious knockout tournament kicked-off on Friday when seventh-tier outfit Sudbury welcomed League Two 's Colchester in an all-Suffolk clash.

The incident occurred in the 76th minute when the U's were 3-0 up, eventually making themselves the first team to qualify for the second round.

George was still under the impression at that time that the abuse had been racially aggravated, tweeting post-match: "Good result. Ruined by s*** like this.

"Honestly. 2nd time in space of a few months. Bet it goes under the carpet again."

The other incident George was referring to in his tweet was when Colchester travelled to Barrow in September.

A home fan at Holker Street allegedly abused the visiting goalkeeper, who was again on the winning side as the U's ran out 3-2 victors.

Referee Simon Mather temporarily halted the game after the abuse was reported, which U's manager Hayden Mullins described as "sickening."

A suspect was interviewed under caution but there was "insufficient evidence" for Cumbria Police to proceed with an investigation.

Barrow chief executive Levi Gill affirmed that he was "convinced that the abuse occurred" and "will take the strongest possible action against anybody proven to be responsible either for this incident or any similar future cases."