March 26 2013

Steve Parish

Crystal Palace chief Steve Parish has vowed to ban the fans who abuse him on Twitter.

Palace's co-chairman has been receiving flak on the social network over a range of issues from Dougie Freedman's controversial exit to the efficiency of the box office.

And although he welcomes open discussion with supporters, he tells the Croydon Advertiser that he will not tolerate the level of vitriol he has had to put up with.

He said: "People ask why I engage with them – these people are giving our club a bad name. Well I'm not going to accept it. If you come on Twitter and call me this and that, you're going to get banned.

"If I know who you are, you're banned from the ground until you learn how to speak to people properly.

"What is an eye-opener for me is that they think it's OK to talk to people like that. I think I've been brave, and you can have any opinion you like, but the vile language and the abuse? And what worries me is that they think it's OK to talk to somebody like that.

"There was one guy in particular last Sunday night calling me this and that, and a couple of weeks ago he had to queue up for tickets and he started swearing, saying we had to sort our box office out.

"And he expects me to say 'oh, yes, I'll get right on that'? If you went into a shop or a hospital and you used that language, you'd get arrested.

"Some of them are still upset Dougie Freedman went and the way he went. Fine, I'll have that debate with them, this isn't a dictatorship, we embrace people that care about the club. But I won't be abused by people and then be expected to engage with them."