FA hands former Watford player an 11-game ban for ‘very serious’ racist remarks made to his teammate
Former Watford midfielder Pierre Dwomoh has been given an 11-match ban by the Football Association (FA) for making racist remarks to one of his teammates. Dwomoh, who left the Championship club earlier this month, was found guilty of a “very serious” and “completely unacceptable” offense by an independent panel.
The ban comes after Dwomoh verbally abused an Under-21 player of Indian heritage, called Player A, on two occasions in October and November last year. The panel said Dwomoh hadn’t immediately taken responsibility or shown regret and even tried to pressure Player A into taking back his complaint.
Later, the 22-year-old Belgian admitted to both incidents, apologized, and accepted full responsibility. His 11-match ban will start from April 2026.
The incidents happened during warm-ups before Under-21 games against Swansea on October 27, 2025, and Colchester United on November 4, 2025, both at Watford’s training ground in London Colney.
Dwomoh said the comments began “as a joke” and that he didn’t mean to offend or use racist language. In an FA interview, he explained that because he’s not from England, he comes from a culture with many different backgrounds—African, Indian, Pakistani, and more. He said he didn’t realize his words would upset Player A, as his girlfriend is British Indian, and he had joked with her about skin color.
Before the Swansea match, Dwomoh reportedly asked Player A, “Are you black like me or are you light-skinned?” Player A replied, “I’m brown.” Dwomoh then said, “Brown is not a colour,” which made Player A laugh. Player A said there was a conversation about skin color just before these remarks. He wasn’t sure if he was laughing out of pain or amusement but understood Dwomoh meant it as a joke.
Player A denied saying “Asians are yellow” and said some comments were racist but that he didn’t make jokes that went “too far.” During the interview, Player A noted he believes people are either light-skinned or black, and “brown people don’t exist.”
Before the Colchester United match, Dwomoh asked Player A, “How is your corner shop going?” He later said he now understands this comment was offensive but didn’t realize it at the time.
The report also mentioned that Dwomoh denied saying “Shave his head” but admitted to telling Player A, in French, “Stop playing the victim.” He explained this means “Don’t make it bigger than it is.” Dwomoh said Player A should have talked to him directly if he felt hurt.
Dwomoh felt the situation became much bigger than he intended and thought Player A was benefiting at his expense.
Along with the 11-match ban, Dwomoh was fined £2,500 and must attend a mandatory face-to-face education program by August 9, 2026.