PIZZA Hut was accused of racism yesterday after asking a group of black professional footballers to pay in advance for their meals.
The demand was made as a table of white youngsters seated nearby were allowed to settle up after eating.Five AFC Bournemouth players were stunned when a duty manager told them to pay up front because of “the way you lot look”.When they refused, staff claimed they were being “disruptive” and called the police.Officers arrived at the restaurant but took no action after the players, including £2,000-a-week first-team regulars Anton Robinson, Liam Feeney and Marvin Bartley, agreed to leave.Pizza Hut last night apologised to the League One stars and admitted they had been treated “very shabbily” but insisted there was no racism.However, midfielder Mr Robinson, 24, said later: “The only thing that was different was the colour of our skins.”Revealing his outrage on Facebook, he added: “I asked ‘has anyone else had to pay before they eat?’. He replied ‘no, but it’s the way you lot look’. I was gonna tear the place up but then it would just prove that he was right not to give us our food. The fact we left without even raising our voices will count against him.”And Mr Bartley, 23, fumed: “It was 100 per cent a race issue. If it wasn’t then I would like to know what it was.” He said the manager told them he was asking them to pay because some people had earlier run off without doing so.The defender added: “There was a bigger group of white lads aged about 17 and 18 in there and I asked if they had to pay and he said he wasn’t going to answer that.“I went over and asked the group myself whether they had to pay in advance and they said they hadn’t.“We were smartly dressed in jeans and jumpers or cardigans and the other group wore tracksuits and hooded tops.
Pizza Hut accused of racism by pro footballers