You heard about that wart of a human being who has been banned from Old Trafford indefinitely after allegedly racially abusing Liverpool's Trent Alexander Arnold during Sunday’s draw at Old Trafford. The offender was ejected from the stadium after he shouted, “You f***ing black ****” at the 21-year-old.

A club statement read: “Racism and all forms of discrimination are completely unacceptable and do not reflect the values of our club. This individual isn't welcome at Old Trafford.” Few would disagree.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was asked about it before United’s game against Partizan in Belgrade, the actions of one dickhead garnering attention from a wider world in a climate where racism has become a big story. If that helps eradicate it then great, but football has long attracted some of the best and worst examples of humanity – there are no barriers to entry if you can get a ticket. Anyone can call themselves a fan of any club and away they go.

Racist incidents are now isolated at Old Trafford and we’ve come a long way from the entire Stretford End singing, “Trigger, trigger, trigger, shoot that n******” as they did to QPR (and later Man Utd’s) Paul Parker in 1989, but isolated isn’t good enough. My viewing of the 2007 FA Cup final was ruined by a heavily intoxicated lowlife on the row in front telling Didier Drogba that he should “fuck off back to Africa”. Fans can often police themselves – which is always the best way of policing. Racism isn’t tolerated among United fans who are proud of the massively diverse fan base. I used to love the fact that a red wearing an Afghan pakol hat sat on the row in front of me in K-Stand.

I used to love the fact that a red wearing an Afghan pakol hat sat on the row in front of me in K-Stand

You stand out like a sore thumb if you make a racist comment at Old Trafford and fans will react – as they did on Sunday. Had that happened in other more raffish areas of the ground or at any away game then fans would have likely confronted the offender. The club, too, abhor racism but incidents can still upset and anger. I spoke to a couple of black fans after Raheem Sterling pointed out that the media can be complicit in racism last year.

One talked about United fans singing, “Where’s your racist centre-half?” during a game against John Terry’s Chelsea, but then singing “Ashley Cole you’re a choc ice”. “That didn’t sit right with me at all and I stayed silent as I would never use that term towards another person,” he said.

“I’ve only ever encountered two problems,” says Jagroop Dhillow, who goes home and away with Manchester United. “Once at City away walking to the away end I got a ‘fuck off you Paki’, even though I’m Indian. The other was at Stoke away in 2013. I was 14 and got a remark about ‘Pakis and tourists taking our tickets’. I was asked why I was there by a so-called United fan.”

I spent dozens of hours listening as Patrice Evra spoke about what he overcame at just about every stage of his football career. As did many other black footballers. They deserve respect not abuse, but while the arseholes might make the headlines, fans can do beautiful things too. This story, for instance, was passed over. Manchester United gave free tickets out to local kids for the recent League Cup game against Rochdale. Blackley Lions Junior FC, from north Manchester, received tickets for nine kids and two adults.

The arseholes might make the headlines, but fans can do beautiful things too

Mum Toni Speakman, took her two boys, aged 11 and nine into tier two of the Stretford End. As the game went on they were shouting “Shoot! Shoot!” – perhaps in desperation, since Manchester United haven’t scored more than one goal in a game since the opening day of the season.

In front of them a large man in his late 20s was tapped into his mobile. He wasn’t making a call, he wasn’t watching the game. He turned round right into the face of the kids and shouted “Shut the fuck up”. The kids were upset, the adults were shocked since they felt that young boys getting behind their team was that football fans were supposed to do.

“I was utterly disgusted,” said the mother. “My sons were shook up and frightened.”

This video was circulated among some Manchester United fans. They were not happy. The independent Red Army Group, who’ve helped bring a better atmosphere to Old Trafford by getting likeminded vocal fans to stand together in the Stretford End this season, decided to act. They put out feelers to try to find out who the kids were and tracked down Speakman via social media. They checked her version of the story and then three of the Red Army members offered to give up their season tickets free of charge for the Liverpool game – the biggest domestic match of the season at Old Trafford.

Toni and her boys were all delighted. The Red Army Group also paid for their taxi to Old Trafford, food, drinks, hats and scarves. A couple of fans looked after them all afternoon. The Red group meet in a Manchester bar and the family spent the afternoon with them before heading to Old Trafford. They had front row seats in the Red Army section right behind the Stretford goal.

“It was an incredible afternoon,” said Toni. “My faith in football fans has been restored. The boys will never forget it and neither will I. We were looked after and the boys had smiles on their faces all day. They shouted and sang and cheered and were encouraged to do so by every single person they came across. My kids are still on cloud nine and they’ve asked for season tickets for Christmas.”

Ignore the canard that Manchester City is the biggest club in Manchester. United are huge in the city

Ignore the canard that Manchester City is the biggest club in Manchester. United are huge in the city. Blackley is working-class north Manchester, the type of place where fans were priced out of watching football when ticket prices surged between 1993 and 2010.

“Local supporters have been neglected for too long,” said ‘Tricky’ of The Red Army Group. “United have a huge international fan base which the club wants to attract, but local kids like these are the future of United’s support and that’s something we’re passionate about nurturing in our ranks. That’s one reason why we decided to try and help Toni and her boys.”

Fans at matches often help each other out. There’s long been a strong mutually supportive community at all clubs where tickets are traded, lifts offered, beers bought. On the streets of Belgrade on Wednesday night, especially in the bohemian area of Skadarska Street where the Busby Babes had their last night out together on 5 February, 1958, fans who’ve known each other for years mixed without any trouble. There’s far more good than bad that comes when football fans get together. A tight fan group can be like a second family, but there has always been the odd dickhead and there always will. On Wednesday night, one Belgrade journalist told me, “We having a saying here that when God was deciding where the fools live in the world, the bag split above Belgrade.” There is no shortage of fools but the majority are passionate football lovers who are delighted that Serbia’s two biggest clubs, Red Star Belgrade and Partizan, are playing high-level European football again. There’s always the risk that a few will spoil it and that will remain, but remember the decent folk too.

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