Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett: “We welcome today’s news from the independent Appeal Board that the suspension handed to John Yems will be extended to three years and wholeheartedly concur with their conclusion that the initial judgement that he was ‘not a conscious racist’ is ‘untenable’.
"We would like to thank The Professional Footballers' Association and The Football Association for ensuring that justice prevails in the case and commend the immense courage of the victims throughout this extremely difficult process.
"Strong sanctions are crucial in sending out a message that racist, Islamophobic and discriminatory language will not be tolerated in football.
"We hope that the record-length ban issued to Yems today will be a landmark moment that enables more victims of discrimination to come forward and provides a powerful statement that abusing the power dynamic between coach and player will have severe consequences.
"We are here to support all victim of discriminatory abuse and we would encourage anybody who sadly experiences or witnesses abuse of any kind in the game to report it to us at Kick It Out."
