A 'Show Racism the Red Card' display takes place before the Premier League match between Sunderland and Brighton at the Stadium of Light in March. A charity which aims to kick racism out of sport could sue Reform UK after a council withdrew support for the organisation. Chris Eynon, the leader of Sunderland City Council, said the local authority would no longer back “politically charged organisations with an agenda”. He also accused Ged Grebby, chief executive of Show Racism The Red Card, of “stark political bias” over comments he has made criticising Reform. Speaking to HuffPost UK, Grebby said he was expressing his own personal opinion rather than the charity’s, which he insisted has cross-party support. He said any suggestions that Show Racism The Red Card was a political organisation “could cause huge damage” to the organisation. Grebby said: “It’s a very serious accusation to say a charity is being party political. “If Reform are making false accusations against us, our lawyer will look into whether it is libel.” He added: “I’ve got a right to have my own political views, and I stand by comments I’ve made about Nigel Farage and Reform being dangerous. But as a charity we need to be cross-party.” He said any suggestion that Show Racism The Red Card is linked to the Labour Party was “absolute nonsense”. “As a charity we’ve got the support of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens,” Grebby said. “We’ve always worked with other political parties.” Sunderland City Council has supported the charity since it was set up 30 years ago. In the last year, the funding it received from the authority trained 250 teachers and educated 1,675 young people in the local area about tackling racism. Grebby said the charity had been planning to re-apply for funding from the council, but now there was “no point”. “The damage will be that we’re unable to provide those programmes in future,” he said. Asked about Sunderland City Council’s decision on LBC, Reform home affairs spokesman Robert Jenrick refused to criticise them. He said he had “not seen the evidence” behind the claim that Show Racism The Red Card is a “politically-charged organisation”. Jenrick said: “I don’t know what the argument is behind not giving the money to that organisation. “But do I think it’s reasonable for a local authority to make choices about what charities and organisations they support? Yeah, absolutely.” 'You don't want to try and drive racism out of football..?' Robert Jenrick finds out live on air that a Reform-led council have pulled funding for Show Racism The Red Card. pic.twitter.com/sGF6TFE16r — LBC (@LBC) September 22, 2026 Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster. Related... Suella Braverman Sparks Outcry By Declaring 'I'm Not English' 'Straight-Up Racism': Minister Slams Zia Yusuf Over Attack On Labour Council Leader Zia Yusuf Accused Of Racism Over Attack On Somali-Born Labour Council Leader
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September 22, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Exclusive: Anti-Racism Charity Could Sue Reform After Council Pulls Support
HuffPost UK