Racial slur complaint being investigated by P.E.I.'s soccer association

P.E.I.'s soccer association is investigating a complaint this week after allegations that a racial slur was made by a under-18 player toward an opponent.

It's the second allegation this season.

According to the latest allegation, a member of one of the under-18 Winsloe teams got into a confrontation with an opponent at the end of a recent game. That opponent then directed a racial slur at him.

The same two teams played against each other just weeks ago and another Winsloe player alleged racial slurs were directed toward them.

The P.E.I. Soccer Association says it did investigate that first allegation, which involved the same two teams.

However, officials say they were unable to find any witness who heard what was said.

"We did the education piece of sending out the harassment policy, and coaches, clubs, meeting with the teams to say 'these kinds of issues aren't allowed according to the Code of Conduct,'" said Peter Wolters, executive director of the P.E.I. Soccer Association.

Then came another meet-up between the two teams — and there was another allegation of a racial slur against a Winsloe player.

"The coach and the team were a little bit deflated in the fact that this situation happened, or was alleged to have happened again," said Peter Howatt, president of the Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals Football Club.

"I believe this is isolated. I don't want to see this give soccer in the province or soccer in general a black eye or a bad name. We are very much taking it seriously from a club level and provincial level to help address, and see what, if anything, we can do to move forward."

The alleged incident is still on the minds of members of the Winsloe team days later.

"I've never seen anyone called anything as bad as this before," said Arnab Kundu.

"It's definitely really important for everyone to understand the harm of saying these things, especially from a young age. If you get used to saying it, or thinking of other races as inferior to you, that's not a good thing."

Wolters said he expects the investigation will go further with the second complaint.

"We're reaching out to parents, players of those teams, and we're asking parents to talk to their son about the incident and if they were witness to hearing those words to come forward, and provide more evidence for our disciplinary committee then to deal with," Wolters said.

Depending on what is discovered, there could be disciplinary action taken, like suspending a player for a specific length of time or a number of games, Wolters said.

He maintains P.E.I.'s soccer community has become more and more diverse and allegations like this are rare.

"We've been fortunate, but we want to make sure they're not turned away from the game of soccer here on P.E.I. and make sure everyone's welcome to play this beautiful game," he said.

Wolters expects the investigation and disciplinary hearing will be completed within a couple of weeks.

When it's over, he said he may meet with Sport P.E.I. to see if there's more the soccer association should be doing to prevent similar allegations in the future.

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