Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of racism in football in England.

There is no place for discrimination in sport, or in wider society. I am committed to ensuring sport does all it can to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination.

Fans can be charged with a Football Banning Order and fined if found to use racist slurs towards players at football games. Sentences can be more severe if it has been recorded as a hate crime.

The Government has also amended legislation to extend the use of Football Banning Orders, so that online abusers can be banned from stadiums for up to 10 years in the same way violent individuals are barred from grounds.

We welcome the recent changes to the Code for Sports Governance and the ongoing work of the FA, the leagues, and organisations such as Kick It Out and the Black Footballers Partnership in challenging discrimination.