A former Albion player will appear in court after fans claimed he made anti-gay gestures whilst playing against his old club.

Blackburn player Colin Kazim- Richards, 26, has been summonsed to appear to answer a charge under Section 5 of the Public Order Act, Sussex Police said.

It is alleged that he made a homophobic gesture to the crowd during Blackburn’s Championship match against Albion at the Amex Stadium on February 12.

After the game. a spokesman for the Football Association confirmed a number of complaints had been received and said they would be working with police to investigate what happened.

The Turkey international was interviewed by Sussex Police officers about the alleged incident earlier this year.

London-born Kazim-Richards will appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on August 22.

Both Blackburn and Albion were unavailable for comment.

Albion fans are often subjected to homophobic chants by opposition fans due to Brighton and Hove’s reputation as the gay capital of the UK.

Mr Kazim-Richards, who is an official campaigner for the anti-racism initiative Kick It Out, played for Albion for one season at the age of 18 in 2005-2006.

His contract was signed after an Albion fan won £250,000 for the club in a competition run by Coca-Cola – leading to Mr Kazim-Richards being dubbed the “Coca-Cola Kid”.

He submitted a transfer request after being omitted from the starting line-up of Brighton’s opening match as they began their campaign in 2006–2007 against Rotherham.

After joining Sheffield United, he went on to play for Fenerbahçe, Toulouse, Galatasaray and Olympiacos.