Racist and sexist jokes trigger walkout at football awards ceremony

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Gabriella Bennett, the co-chair of Women in Journalism Scotland, replied, posting: “I was at these awards tonight and sat through the same sexist and racist jokes made by a keynote speaker. My table walked out at the same time Eilidh’s did.”

Telegraph Sport is attempting to contact the individual at the center of the allegations.

The SFWA said in a statement: “The Scottish Football Writers’ Association apologises to anyone offended or upset by material from one of our after-dinner speakers at last night’s annual awards dinner.

“We have unanimously agreed that this will act as a catalyst to review and improve the format of our future events to make it an enjoyable and inspirational event for all.”

Former Manchester United and Aberdeen manager Ferguson was among the attendees at Sunday’s ceremony in Glasgow, at which he collected the SFWA’s Lifetime Achievement award.

It would not be the first football awards ceremony to be engulfed by such a storm, with England’s Professional Footballers Association awards having witnessed more than one in recent years.

At a PFA dinner in 1997, football agent Rachel Anderson was banned from attending what was then a men-only event.

After being refused entry on the night of the ceremony, she duly took the PFA to court and won.

At the same dinner in 2013, the black comedian Reginald D Hunter repeatedly used the word “n—–” and made potentially-offensive jokes about Jews and women.

Then-PFA chairman Clark Carlisle admitted afterwards that he and his colleagues had made a “gross error of judgment” in booking Hunter.

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