Barnet players threaten pre-match strike over ‘racist’ comment.

Barnet’s players have threatened to go on strike for last night’s game at Southend amid a row between captain Jamie Turley and a member of staff over an alleged racist incident.

Turley missed the Bees’ 2-1 defeat at Roots Hall and Barnet owner Tony Kleanthous confirmed this morning that the centre-half and a staff member have been suspended on full pay pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation of the club.

It comes after Stockport County’s Ryan Johnson claimed he was called “a monkey” by a Barnet staff member during the north London club’s 5-0 defeat on Saturday.

The FA confirmed this morning that they are aware of the allegation and have launched an investigation.

Some of the Barnet players reportedly asked the club to ensure that the member of staff at the center of the allegation was not present at the club on Monday morning.

However, the employee, who is not part of the coaching staff and has been described as an employee of Barnet’s Hive stadium, still arrived on Monday.

Turley is understood to have confronted the member of staff, who reported the captain to the club, leading to both suspensions.

The rest of the squad effectively went on strike in protest and discussed refusing to play against Southend during a series of tense Zoom calls on Monday afternoon.

The coaching staff was said to fully support whatever the players decided, but the team was reminded of the potential implications of not playing, which could include fines or even dismissal.

The team ultimately decided to play without Turley, and Kleanthous says he plans to speak with the team tomorrow, along with the safety officer at Saturday’s game, who investigated the alleged racism at the time.

Kleanthous told Standard Sport this morning: “We’re taking the matter really seriously and trying to get it right.

“Someone has heard a comment they believe is racist and believes it came from a member of staff. All of that was investigated on the day, no one relayed that to me as president and I don’t know that the situation is ongoing.

“Monday morning I am dealing with an issue between two staff members and I have no choice but to suspend them both.

“We are still waiting for witness statements. These are full payment suspensions to allow matters to be properly investigated. It doesn’t mean anyone is guilty.

“It’s the right thing to do. I have arranged for our safety officer who did the investigation to meet the players tomorrow and I will meet them tomorrow to explain the process.”