MEMBERS of an east Belfast football team have removed a Confederate flag placed outside the home of a black family, condemning those responsible for putting it there.
Police said that they were treating the erection of the flag on a lamppost at Dee Street in east Belfast as a "hate crime".
A police spokesman said they "were working with community representatives to facilitate the removal of the flag".
The Confederate flag, which is historically associated with slavery, has recently been linked to racial tensions in America. There have been calls for it to be banned from public space in the US following a racist attack in South Carolina where nine people were murdered in a racist attack at an African -American church earlier this month.
A 13-year-old boy and his mother were believed to be the intended targets of the act of intimidation,. The schoolboy is a youth team player for East Belfast Football Club.
Senior members of the team removed the flag yesterday (FRI), saying they had not been contacted by police about the flag but had removed it out of respect for the family at the centre of the intimidation.
Ryan Ward, youth development officer for East Belfast FC, said members of the club were "disgusted" when they heard what happened.
"The flag was placed right at our young player's front door. As soon as we heard we got together and said we would go and remove it ourselves and re-assure this young lad and his mother that they have our full support," Mr Ward said.
"This young lad is a very valued member of our team, he's been with us from the first day we started the youth team which is over a year now.
"This was the work of one individual and is in no way reflective of this community.
"That flag will not being going up again and if it does we'll be back with a ladder to take it down, the person responsible for intimidating this family has no support in this area", Mr Ward added.
