‘A real and credible threat’
Everton’s board of directors have been instructed not to attend Saturday’s Premier League game with Southampton due to a “real and credible threat to their safety and security”, the club said.
The club’s chairman, Bill Kenwright, CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Chief Finance & Strategy Officer Grant Ingles and Non-Executive Director Graeme Sharp have “reluctantly accepted the outcome of the safety assessment carried out by security advisors”, a statement from the club reads.
Club Statement:
— Everton (@Everton) January 14, 2023
It goes on to say that board members received the instruction following “malicious and unacceptably threatening correspondence received by the Club and increasing incidents of anti-social behaviour – including targeted physical aggression – at recent home matches”.
The statement quoted an unnamed security and safety advisor, as saying:
“Following a thorough risk assessment, and in response to tangible threats received by the Club and intelligence we have gathered, the Club’s Board members have been told they must not attend today’s fixture.”
A Club spokesperson added: “This is an unprecedented decision for Everton Football Club – never before has our entire Board of Directors been ordered not to attend a match on safety grounds. It is a profoundly sad day for Everton and Evertonians.”
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