Millwall ban 13-year-old fan who abused Marvin Sordell

Marvin Sordell of Bolton Wanderers looks on from the stand (Getty Images)

Millwall have banned a 13-year-old boy for “the foreseeable future” for verbally abusing Bolton striker Marvin Sordell during a Championship game last month.

The incident occurred during the meeting between the two sides at The Den on 6 October and led to an FA investigation involving both clubs.

Following the investigation and taking into account the age of the culprit, Millwall opted not to ban the fan for life and pledged to put him into an education programme in an attempt to rehabilitate him.

Their statement released in conjunction with announcements from the FA and Bolton said:

“Firstly we would like to put on record how grateful we are for the support and co-operation we have received from Bolton Wanderers and the FA in resolving what has been a challenging and topical issue over the past four weeks.”

“The individual has been banned from Millwall matches for the foreseeable future, but as a club we also felt, given the boy's age and background, we had a duty to play our part in attempting to educate and rehabilitate him.”

A spokesman for Bolton Wanderers said: "Following the conclusion of the investigation, Bolton Wanderers would like to thank the FA and Millwall for their co-operation and assistance in responding to the events at The Den.”

“Marvin Sordell would like to thank the FA, the PFA and Kick it Out for their support, and Millwall for the way in which they dealt with this.”

“Bolton Wanderers will continue to work with, and support, the FA, Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card in their on-going work against all forms of discrimination in football."

It marked a seemingly peaceful end to a situation which had at one point looked like it might inflict further damage on the already damaged reputation of the sport, something which the FA were grateful for.

Their statement read: “The FA applauds both Millwall FC and Bolton Wanderers FC for their commitment and cooperation in ensuring a full and thorough investigation could take place.”

“We would also like to thank Marvin Sordell and The PFA for their assistance throughout this process.”

“The FA fully supports Millwall’s approach in terms of dealing with the young individual responsible through a ban from the club's matches for the foreseeable future as well as offering him a place on one of its education programmes, run by Millwall for All.”

“As the English game’s governing body, The FA continues to work closely with our partners to ensure we eradicate all forms of discrimination in football, including the important work Kick it Out undertakes with professional clubs through the Equality Standards.”