An online Charlton Athletic event on Saturday celebrating Football vs Homophobia was 'zoom-bombed' by racist and homophobic individuals.

A small number infiltrated the event's Zoom and used abusive and offensive hate crime language and graffiti in an attempt to ruin the event.

In a joint statement, Charlton Athletic have condemned the abuse, and the organisers are now corresponding with a Police Hate Crime Unit.

The event was hosted by the Proud Valiants, the club's LGBTQI+ supporters group, who led a programme of events to celebrate the launch of the national Football vs Homophobia Month of Action.

This included a "very successful" launch show hosted by Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday evening, January 31.

This was followed by a comedy event, 'The Worst Football Songs Ever', which the club said was 'sadly infiltrated by a small number of people whose only intention was to spoil it for others."

The group joined the online Zoom call, then used racist, misogynistic and homophobic graffiti and slurs.

The organisers were able to shut down the call and restart the event, and after the 'false start' they said they were able to host 'a really great night.'

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Chair of the Proud Valiants, Rob Harris, said “The way the abuse was directed would suggest the perpetrators of the crime were not from our club, in fact we are very lucky to have real support from the club’s wider fanbase and are blessed with a great new owner, a club, a community trust, and a supporters’ trust who back us without question."

The club said the Proud Valiants have now taken legal advice about the incident and are corresponding with the Police Hate Crime Unit

The joint statement read: "The Proud Valiants, Charlton Athletic Football Club, Charlton Athletic Community Trust and the Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust have a long history of working together to tackle all discrimination, and we stand together to unequivocally restate and pledge our commitment to tackling all forms of hatred and division in sport and wider society.

"We welcome all fans regardless of their sexuality, race/ethnicity, or gender, and any hate crimes committed against these groups will not be tolerated."

Mr Harris continued: “This incident and recent events at other clubs show that homophobia is still a big issue in the sport - however the message remains that we will not be deterred from following the sport we love because of the prejudice and hatred of minority.

“As a united force we will continue our work against Homophobia and Transphobia in the game, alongside all other forms of discrimination.”