A British Asian player says he was called a terrorist by a team-mate, but felt unable to speak out at the time for fear of being branded a "troublemaker".
Maziar Kouhyar moved with his family to Birmingham as an infant seeking asylum from Afghanistan and signed professionally for Walsall in 2016.
Kouhyar says he holds the club in high regard for giving him a chance in the professional game, but alleges he was subjected to abuse from very early on in his time there.
"Should Maz have raised any of his concerns at the time with the hierarchy here at the club, they would have been taken very seriously and dealt with swiftly.
"We have a zero tolerance policy on discrimination of any kind and would not condone any such behaviour. Even though he has now left the club we would of course like to deal with his concerns if he is able to provide specific detail.
"He was a valuable member of the club from the age 15 where he progressed through the youth ranks to earn a professional contract before sadly rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in April 2019. Despite being out of contract in June, Maz completed his rehabilitation with the club before we parted ways in January 2020.
"Maz is one of a number of British Asian players who have followed a similar path with Walsall FC in recent years such as Netan Sansara, Malvind Benning and Jordon Sangha."
Only 10 of the 4,000 professional players in England are from a British Asian background. Kouhyar, who has been without a club since leaving the Saddlers, believes an increase in the number of role models to aspire to could lead to exponential growth.
"If you're going to do something you always look at someone else who's already done it and follow their example, having more Asian players will create a domino effect," he said.
