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Eleven months after the Zebo affair, Ulster have now banned a second fan after incident versus Harlequins

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Ulster CEO Jonny Petrie has taken to social media to reveal that the Irish province have banned another fan from future matches at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium. 

The reputation of the province’s supporters was dented last January when Simon Zebo alleged he was on the receiving end of a racial taunt during Racing’s Champions Cup defeat by Ulster.

Petrie reacted by handing a lifetime ban to a spectator and issuing written apologies to both the player and the French club. They also thanked supporters who had provided information to assist their investigation. 

Eleven months later, they have similarly issued the ultimate sanction to a loud-mouth supporter in the wake of their recent European win over Harlequins. 

Taking to social media to explain the club’s sanction, Petrie wrote: “As a result of complaints made by other supporters at the Harlequins game, I have today banned an individual from future Ulster matches.

“We want Kingspan Stadium to be an intimidating place for away teams to visit, but abusive behaviour will never have any place here.”

Petrie’s decision was quickly lauded by some Ulster fans: 

Ulster are currently riding high in both European and domestic competitions this season, topping their Heineken Champions Cup pool with for successive wins and sitting in second behind Leinster in their Guinness PRO14 conference. 

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