ALBION chiefs have welcomed the prison sentence for a fan who spouted racist abuse at black and Asian players.

George Reynolds attended the Brighton and Hove Albion game at the Amex earlier this season.

He called black Tottenham Hotspur players “monkey boys” and abused Son Heung-Min by saying “Koreans eat dogs”.

The 24-year-old was ejected from the stadium by stewards after other Seagulls fans heard the vile remarks.

He has been banned for life, and Albion chief executive Paul Barber said he hopes it is a “watershed moment” for the club and for football supporters.

“Put simply, we don’t want to witness it here or anywhere else again,” he said.

At Lewes Crown Court Reynolds, of Shipley Road, Brighton, was jailed for eight weeks.

Following the incident Paul Barber said Reynolds has been banned for life from the American Express Community Stadium.

He responded to the judge’s sentence and said: “We welcome the verdict. There is no excuse for racism in any form, either inside a football stadium or anywhere in society.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy on racism and the individual will also be subject to a life ban from all of our fixtures, premises and events.

“We take no pleasure in imposing bans on supporters but we have made it very clear on numerous occasions that we have zero tolerance for any kind of discriminatory behaviour, and the sanctions we impose will be commensurate with what is totally unacceptable behaviour.

“As Sussex Police have said in their statement, alcohol played a part in Mr Reynolds’ actions but this is not an excuse as it is also a criminal offence to be intoxicated inside a football stadium.

“And, despite other fans’ objecting to and ultimately reporting his behaviour, Mr Reynolds persisted.

“Looking forward, I hope that Mr Reynolds’ conviction is a watershed moment, at least for our club.

“There is no place for racist or discriminatory behaviour in our society, let alone in this or any other football stadium.”

Reynolds was reported by other supporters in the North Stand at the stadium, and ignored pleas to not make racist comments.

Mr Barber said: “On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to thank those supporters who provided the club and Sussex Police with witness statements.

“It is extremely heartening to know that we can count on your support to help rid our game and society of such abhorrent behaviour.”

The police’s football liaison officer PC Darren Balkham said: “The language used by this individual was completely unacceptable. There is no place for it in society, whether that be in a football stadium, in public or anywhere else for that matter.

“Reynolds claimed he did not remember what he said due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed before the game, and he only acknowledged his actions in police interviews after being informed of the numerous reports made against him by other fans.

“We work closely with Brighton and Hove Albion to prevent and detect criminal activity, and anyone caught committing offences will be dealt with robustly.”