John Yems' ban extended to 2026: Kick It Out chief hopes decision will be 'a landmark moment' that enables more victims of discrimination to come forward

The FA previously brought 16 breaches of FA Rule E3.2 against John Yems. He admitted to one charge and an independent Regulatory Commission found him guilty of eleven of the remaining 15 charges, issuing a 17-month ban.

An FA spokesperson said: "We welcome the verdict from the independent Appeal Board to suspend John Yems from all football-related activity until January 2026."

You can read the full story and statement from the FA here.

In response to the decision Tony Burnett, CEO of Kick It Out, said: “Kick It Out welcomes today’s news from the independent Appeal Board that the suspension handed to John Yems will be extended to three years and wholeheartedly concur with their conclusion that the initial judgement that he was ‘not a conscious racist’ is ‘untenable’.

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“We would like to thank The PFA and The FA for ensuring that justice prevails in the case and commend the immense courage of the victims throughout this extremely difficult process.

“Strong sanctions are crucial in sending out a message that racist, Islamophobic and discriminatory language will not be tolerated in football. We hope that the record-length ban issued to Yems today will be a landmark moment that enables more victims of discrimination to come forward and provides a powerful statement that abusing the power dynamic between coach and player will have severe consequences.

“We are here to support all victims of discriminatory abuse and we would encourage anybody who sadly experiences or witnesses abuse of any kind in the game to report it to us at Kick It Out.”