Kamal Ghorui
Former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Amrit Bansal-McNulty has partially won his employment tribunal case against ex-Crawley Town manager John Yems after the tribunal found that he had been subjected to racial harassment during a loan spell at the club. The 26-year-old former Northern Ireland Under-21 international is now pursuing compensation reportedly worth around £12 million after claiming the abuse he suffered caused psychiatric damage and effectively ended his professional playing career.
Tribunal finds John Yems guilty of racial harassment
The case was heard over 30 days at the London Employment Tribunal and involved claims against Yems, Crawley Town and QPR, where Bansal-McNulty had spent most of his development years after joining the club’s academy in 2014 at the age of 14. Bansal-McNulty, whose father is Indian and whose mother is Irish, alleged that he suffered racial and religious discrimination along with harassment during his 2021-22 loan spell at Crawley Town. Three claims of racial harassment against Yems were upheld by the tribunal, while the claims against QPR were dismissed.According to the Daily Mail, one of the incidents upheld involved Yems calling the midfielder a “curry muncher” before asking whether he was upset that pizzas supplied by a sponsor did not include a “curry pizza”. Yems argued that the comments were intended as “banter”, but the tribunal rejected that defence and concluded the remarks amounted to racial harassment. In its summary, the tribunal stated: “We found that Crawley Town was vicariously liable for his conduct which was in the course of his employment. The claims against QPR failed.” The ruling means Crawley Town bears legal responsibility for Yems’ actions during the period in which he managed the club between 2019 and 2022.
Player claims abuse caused career-ending damage
Bansal-McNulty is now seeking compensation of approximately £12 million, arguing that the treatment he experienced caused serious psychological harm and derailed his football career. The tribunal noted: “The Claimant is seeking circa £12 million compensation as he claims that he suffered psychiatric, and career-ending, injury because of the treatment which he had suffered.” The midfielder left QPR in 2022 without making a first-team appearance after several loan spells away from Loftus Road and has not played professional football since. During proceedings, it was revealed that Bansal-McNulty believed QPR and then-academy director Chris Ramsey failed to adequately support or protect him after concerns about racism emerged during his time at Crawley. Both Ramsey and QPR denied wrongdoing and the tribunal ultimately dismissed the claims against the Championship club. According to evidence presented during the hearing, Ramsey contacted the player on the same day allegations against Yems became public. Bansal-McNulty alleged the conversation focused heavily on whether he had leaked the story and claimed he found the line of questioning intimidating, particularly as he had only months remaining on his contract. His deal was ultimately not renewed.
Viral incident and FA punishment intensified scrutiny on Yems
Yems had already become one of the most controversial figures in English football before the tribunal ruling after allegations of discriminatory behaviour surfaced publicly in 2022. Crawley Town suspended him in April of that year after several squad members raised concerns over racist language and behaviour. The Football Association later charged Yems with multiple breaches involving discriminatory language. Although he denied all but one of the allegations, 11 of the 15 charges were upheld by an FA disciplinary commission. He initially received a 17-month suspension, but that punishment was later increased to three years following an FA appeal, making it the longest ban ever issued by the FA for discrimination-related offences in English football. The suspension officially ended in January this year. At the time, the original FA commission controversially concluded that Yems was “not a conscious racist”, despite upholding the majority of the charges against him.
Tribunal says “there are no real winners”
In its final observations, the tribunal acknowledged the broader damage caused by the case to everyone involved. “Unfortunately there are no real winners in this case,” the panel stated. “Whilst the Claimant has been partially successful in his claims against Mr Yems, and vicariously Crawley Town, his claims against QPR have failed. “Mr Yems has not, and realistically was never going to, obtain the exoneration of his conduct and character he was seeking.” The upcoming remedy hearing will now proceed involving only Yems and Crawley Town, where the level of compensation, if awarded, will be determined.
