A man who allegedly made racist monkey gestures towards a black footballer during a local derby match was found dead just hours later.
The Chester FC supporter was spotted on camera apparently performing a gesture towards Warrington Town player Bohan Dixon after a teammate had scored.
Objects were also thrown on to the pitch during ugly scenes at the Cal.Delivery Stadium, home of Warrington Town FC, during the National League North fixture in front of 2,296 fans on Saturday.
Video footage was circulated on social media and discussed among fans, with one posting an image claiming to be of the man, who has not been identified.
Chester initially said it was ‘angry and dismayed at an alleged instance of racism’, and would share its video and photographic evidence with Cheshire Police.
The club added: ‘Racism has no place in sport or society, and anyone found to have displayed such behaviour will receive an indefinite ban from attending matches.’
Chester also condemned ‘the actions of a minority who are unable to behave responsibly’ and said the side now faced a Football Association investigation.
But then in a shocking development, the club revealed this morning ‘it is with sadness Chester FC has been made aware of the tragic death of the individual involved’ and ‘the immediate thoughts of everyone at the club are with his family and friends.’
MailOnline then contacted police who confirmed the man was ‘due to be spoken to at a later date’ about a ‘racially aggravated public order offence’, before he died yesterday at a property in Flint, North Wales – with no suspicious circumstances.
A man among the Chester FC fans was spotted on camera performing an alleged monkey gesture towards Warrington Town player Bohan Dixon after his side had scored on Saturday
In close-up the man could be seen allegedly making the racist gestures following the goal
The man was standing among the 900 Chester fans at Warrington Town’s ground on Saturday
The incident happened when Dixon was celebrating his team’s opening goal in front of the 900 Chester fans after Connor Woods had scored from the penalty spot.
The goal came in the 73rd minute, but Warrington captain Josh Amis was then sent off for violent conduct and Harrison Burke scored a Chester equaliser on the 85th.
The 1-1 result left Warrington in 18th place in the 24-team league, three points above the relegation zone. Chester are now in seventh, just within the play-off places.
The non-league clubs are separated by only 20 miles and the attendance was believed to have been a Warrington record for a regular league fixture.
Liverpool-born Dixon, 35, spent six seasons with Warrington before leaving in February to join Macclesfield Town – but then returned to Warrington in the summer.
The Chester FC supporter was spotted on camera appearing to perform a gesture towards Warrington Town player Bohan Dixon (file picture)
The initial tweet from Chester FC yesterday about the incident of alleged racism
A fresh tweet posted by Chester FC this morning confirmed the fan had died
The incident happened at the Cal.Delivery Stadium in Warrington on Saturday (file picture)
A Cheshire Police spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘During the match between Warrington FC and Chester FC on Saturday, November 30 police were made aware of a racially aggravated public order offence.
‘The suspect was identified and was due to be spoken to at a later date about the matter.
‘Sadly, the man was reported to have died at an address in Flint on Sunday, December 1. There are no suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner.’
The force added that the matter had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) ‘in line with standard procedure’.
An IOPC spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the man’s death.
‘We can confirm we received a referral from Cheshire Constabulary this morning (December 2) and we will assess the available information to determine if an investigation is required.’
Chester FC said it had nothing further to say on the matter. The deceased fan’s cause of death has not been confirmed.
