Officers learned about the reports during the first half of Nottingham Forest’s home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers last night (11 January). The suspect, a Wolves fan sitting in the City Ground’s away end, was allegedly overheard hurling homophobic slurs at rival fans and Forest players. A 53-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of using threatening or abusive language after being identified by club stewards and pointed out to police. He was later released on conditional bail. Homophobic language has absolutely no place inside or outside football stadiums and will never be tolerated by Nottinghamshire Police,” said Chief Inspector James Walker, the force’s hate crime lead. “We will always take positive action against anyone found to be spouting hate speech and would urge anyone who overhears this type of abuse to report it to us straight away. As a force, we work closely with Nottinghamshire’s three professional football clubs and have a joint approach towards reporting and dealing with hate at football matches. Nottinghamshire Police also recently launched our ‘take aim at hate’ campaign, which focuses on raising awareness of hate and encouraging victims of hate abuse to report it to the police. “A suspect has been arrested in connection with this incident, but our inquiries are still ongoing, so we’d ask anyone who has any information about what happened to contact us. Information can be left by calling 101 and referencing incident 398 of January 11, 2023, or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.” “Homophobia, like all forms of discrimination, has no place in football or society, and the club strongly condemns such behaviour,” a Wolves spokesperson said. Our ethos at Wolves is about being ‘One Pack’ – an attitude our supporters are very passionate about and that extends to our relationships across the football community, regardless of rivalries or what happens on the football pitch. “Although it is extremely disappointing to have any discriminatory behaviour reported at our games, what is pleasing is that it is being brought to our attention by stewards and fans, which is a huge help as we join together to eradicate discrimination from our game. We will continue to campaign for inclusivity and to combat discriminatory abuse, whether inside stadiums or online, and the club will fully support the police in their investigation.