Mansfield Town’s players show support for campaign 'tackling' hate crime in Nottinghamshire

‘Take aim at hate’ was launched in 2022 in a bid to raise awareness around what a hate crime is, the work Nottinghamshire Police are doing to tackle it and the support available for victims.

Empowering people to report incidents of hate is another key part of the campaign.

Mansfield Town FC players have helped spread the word about the campaign by taking part in a photoshoot in support.

Stags stars Aden Flint, Will Swan, Lucas Akins, Davis Keillor-Dunn, Louis Reed, Aaron Lewis, Callum Johnson, Lewis Brunt, Christy Pym and Scott Flinders all posed with the ‘take aim at hate’ social media picture frame at the club’s training ground.

The club last year joined fellow Nottinghamshire sides Nottingham Forest and Notts County in signing up to an agreement committing to work in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police to deal with any hate that occurs at football matches.

This collaborative work has led to 14 hate crime incidents being reported at matches involving the three clubs since last October, with two of these incidents leading to convictions and six leading to action being taken through education workshops and other interventions.

Mansfield Town club captain Ollie Clarke said: “Hate crime has no place in football, in the street, online or in wider society.

“As a club, we aim to be as inclusive as possible and to be welcoming to all.

“The club continually promotes inclusion and works actively across Mansfield in championing equality and fairness.

“The club fully supports Nottinghamshire Police’s hate crime campaign and as a squad we reiterate our stance against discrimination and unfair behaviour.”

A hate crime can be separated into three types – physical assault, verbal abuse or incitement of hatred – and is any incident that is perceived to be based on someone’s prejudice towards a person because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.

Anyone wishing to report a hate crime can do so by calling 999 in an emergency, 101 for non-emergencies, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.