THE man behind AFC Bournemouth's Kick Racism Out of Football campaign has been subjected to threats of violence as a result of his efforts.

Paul Williams, director of AFC Bournemouth Community Mutual, says racists have been targeting him on an internet message board

One message says: "He (Paul) will get his kicking soon I am reliably informed. He will find it very grim up north when he gets visited at an away game."

The site also contains poems targeting police on the anti-racist liaison team, making threats of physical violence against them.

Mr Williams said: "I have received several threats of violence for my part in trying to rid our ground of racism. There are also some sick poems about stabbing some of the policemen who work in the football liaison unit."

The abuse coincides with a campaign, reported in the Echo last week, about banning orders given to people found committing racist abuse at games.

Mr Williams, however, is even more determined to kick this minority element into touch.

"We have just launched a texting initiative which enables supporters to text a central police unit within the ground so that they can report trouble anonymously without having to stand up and be seen.

"The police and stewards inside the ground can then respond immediately to that text."

The scheme has attracted a grant from the European Fund.

A spokesman for the nationwide Kick Racism Out of Football campaign, Leone Mann, said: "More should be done to stop these idiots from targeting campaigners who are carrying out their jobs by trying to get rid of racism in football.

"Unfortunately a lot of these sites are hosted in the US, which makes them harder to trace.

"It is unfortunate that AFC Bournemouth has experienced this abuse. Their texting initiative is a fantastic idea and one which we have encouraged other clubs around the country to take up."

Cherries chairman Peter Philips said he is aware of racist websites but is confident that the police are monitoring them.

"I should say that it is best to ignore them but when it comes to threats against individuals then it becomes more serious."

He added: "There are clubs around the country who have a problem with groups of thugs but AFC Bournemouth is not one of them."

Supporters who witness any racist abuse at the Fitness First Stadium can text on 07708665077.

First published: August 21