Man claims he was refused entry to Essex nightclub 'for being Welsh' after bouncer heard accent
Two football fans have claimed they were told they couldn’t go inside a nightclub in England just because they are Welsh.
The two Wrexham fans were a long way from their North Wales home in Southend-on-Sea when they were refused entry into the club, and are understandably miffed at the bizarre alleged snub.
After all, there’s nothing wrong with being Welsh, is there?
Anyway, the club – the interestingly named MooMoo Clubrooms – has launched an investigation into why the two chaps were refused entry to the club on Saturday, promising that they’ll stamp out any suspicion of discrimination.
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Jonathan Lloyd and his mate – who does not wish to be named – had their hearts set on a big night out in Southend after watching their team take on the Essex-based Southend United in the National League this last Saturday.
The game finished scoreless, in case you're wondering, so the lads will have needed a drink after all of that excitement.
After receiving a recommendation from some Southend fans, they headed on out to the club but were shocked after a bouncer asked whether they were Welsh, before refusing them entry after that.
The pair weren’t wearing any football gear, and were smartly dressed, so they’re not sure what exactly about them it was that saw them refused entry.
Jonathan told North Wales Live: "The doorman, who heard our conversation asked 'are you Welsh?' to which we replied yes.
“The doorman then told us we weren't allowed in.”
Jonathan says that he doesn’t think that the pair being Wrexham fans was the reasoning behind it, simply that they are from Wales in the first place.
It’s a strange thing to care about, particularly if there’s not any reason to suspect the pair might have been trouble.
He continued: "We were standing in the queue, if he hadn't heard our accents we would have got in, so he basically didn't let us in because we're Welsh.
“We went back later on and tried again and the same doorman said 'are you the Welsh boyos?'
"He didn't mention football or the fact Wrexham were playing.
“There was only two of us and we'd had no trouble anywhere else."
Following Jonathan and his friend’s complaints, the club – which has venues outside Southend as well – has launched an investigation to help get to the bottom of things.
A spokesperson for MooMoo Southend said: “We do not condone discrimination of any form in our venue.
“We have raised this alleged incident with our third party contracted door team and an investigation is underway.”
Tom Wood