Forest Green Rovers have dismissed social media reports that a fan was removed from their ground for having a bacon sandwich. The National League side broke their silence after footage emerged online showing a fan being ejected from The New Lawn Stadium during their clash with Morecambe, with the suggestion that he had brought in his own food.
Club Statement on Incident
In a post on X, the club wrote: "We are aware of a video circulating online following our game against Morecambe yesterday. Contrary to social media opinion & wisdom, the ejection was nothing to do with bacon sarnies (sic) more a little 'over exuberance' on the last day of the season. After repeated warnings, the stewards were left with no choice and the gentleman was ejected from the stadium." They added the hashtags #neverletthetruthgetinthewayofagoodstory and #slownewsday.
Vegan Club Background
Forest Green, who were members of the Football League for seven years before their relegation to the non-league system last season, became the world's first vegan football club in 2015. The decision was made by chairman and environmentalist Dale Vince as they scrapped meat and fish for plant-based foods. Therefore, taking in a bacon sandwich would have been viewed against the club's move to switch meat for a plant-based menu.
The video seemingly emerged on TikTok, where the caption read: "Solicitor/Morecambe fan removed for sneaking Bacon butty into Forest Green Rovers." The footage shows three stewards removing the gentleman before X users reposted the video onto a different platform.
Match Outcome and Season Context
How much football the supposed Morecambe fan missed is unknown, but his side ended their incident-hit campaign with a 5-0 defeat to Robbie Savage's side. It means that The Shrimps have been relegated in three of their last four seasons and have fallen from League One to playing National League North, regional football, next season. For Forest Green, they ended Savage's first season in charge on a high after adding gloss on their playoff-clinching campaign. They face a trip to Boreham Wood on Wednesday in the National League playoff eliminator for a place in the semi-final, where they will travel to Carlisle United.
Owner's Statement on Vegan Menu
In an interview from 2015, Vince explained the decision to switch to an entire plant-based menu. He said: "As a football club, we stopped serving meat to our players, fans and staff about four seasons ago. We've been on a mission since then to introduce our fans to this new world. When you drop the meat and two veg approach, a whole new world of food options opens up. The gap between vegetarian and vegan food is actually quite small; it's a step rather than a leap to take. A lot of our food has been vegan for some time now, and this season we've taken the last small step."
In a blog post on his website dalevince.com, the Forest Green owner claimed that the change has been profitable, even beating meat-based catering across the country to win Menu of the Year from Sport and Leisure Catering Magazine.
