A Brentford fan was arrested after being accused of racially abusing Duane Holmes, the Derby County midfielder during yesterday’s Championship match at Griffin Park.

A complaint was made to police after the incident next to the dugout, as a fan, who Brentford later said was a season-ticket holder, confronted Holmes, who had been substituted, “at close quarters”, after Brentford had scored their third equaliser of the game in the 83rd minute.

Frank Lampard, the Derby manager, said that he had not witnessed the incident but said Holmes had been upset.

“It has been reported, the man who was accused has been taken by the police,” Lampard said. “Duane is upset at the situation.

(Image: EMPICS Sport)

(Image: Salvio Calabrese/UK Sports Pics)

“To be fair the Brentford staff came [and apologised] at the end of the game. I can take a lot in football, a lot of banter. There was a lot round the dugout and I don’t mind that, I used to play down the road, I accept that.

“But some things obviously cross the line. I’ll leave it there, it needs to be dealt with.”

Brentford issued a statement saying they would impose severe sanctions if the man is convicted of a racially-aggravated offence.

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“Brentford Football Club can confirm that a Season Ticket Holder was arrested following today’s game against Derby County,” the statement said.

(Image: EMPICS Sport)

“The man in question has been accused of committing a racially-aggravated public order offence in the later stages of today’s game. He was identified at the time, removed from the ground and subsequently arrested.

“Brentford FC will continue to liaise with the Metropolitan Police, who will now investigate the incident. The Club utterly condemns discrimination of any kind. It is abhorrent and has no place in society and we are determined to drive it out of Griffin Park.

“The most severe sanctions will be imposed on any individual convicted of discrimination and we will await the result of the Police investigation before commenting further.”

Meanwhile, Wigan Athletic issued a club statement after the 2-2 draw at Bristol City claiming that defender Nathan Byrne was racially abused on social media after the game.

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Byrne was wrongly credited by some media outlets with the late equaliser, actually scored by Anthony Pilkington, which robbed City of victory.

The club statement read: 'Wigan Athletic Football Club are angered by racist abuse received on the personal Twitter account of one of our players, Nathan Byrne, on Saturday afternoon.

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'We have reported the incident to the police and will work with the relevant authorities to assist them with their investigations.

"There is no place for discrimination in society and social media is not an exception to those rules. We find this behaviour abhorrent.'