A FOOTBALL player has been banned from Ridgeons League football for two years following alleged racist remarks during a match at Felixstowe.

A FOOTBALL player has been banned from Ridgeons League football for two years following alleged racist remarks during a match at Felixstowe.

Wisbech Town striker Tom Gosling, 22, of Spalding, denied racially abusing two Felixstowe and Walton players during an away league match on November 24.

However, Cambridgeshire Football Association handed him a 42-day ban and £50 fine for the comments he is alleged to have made.

The striker also received a 182-day ban and £150 fine at the Cambs FA hearing for a separate incident.

This related to an incident in which he was sent off for confronting a referee after being booked for a late tackle in Wisbech's 2-1 Boxing Day win over Swaffham.

Gosling, who joined Wisbech early in the season, was found guilty of pushing official Steve Artis during Wisbech's Boxing Day victory over Swaffham at Fenland Park in the Ridgeons League Premier Division.

Artis, who runs the line at Premier League level, was unhurt in the incident.

Wisbech boss Roy McManus said: "A lot of people told me that other managers had failed to handle Tom, but that did not concern me.

“He is a handful and that is exactly what I was looking for when I signed him.

“He had done very well for the club but the referee said he was threatened by Tom's actions on Boxing Day and felt it could have escalated if a team-mate had not pulled him away.

“Tom is a lovely lad - a grafter on and off the pitch. But he has a hot temper which flares up occasionally and he let himself and the club down.

“He is paying the price with missing so long and has to undo the damage by returning to the game with better discipline.

“Whether he comes back to Wisbech is something for us to decide in the future because none of us know what might be happening in seven or eight months time.”