SWINDON Town have released a statement in response to claims made by a national newspaper regarding the alleged racial abuse of former loanee Jonathan Tehoue by manager Paolo Di Canio.

The Mail Online last night carried a story revealing that the FA are investigating the reported incident, and Town have now moved to support the Italian.

The statement read: “Following an article in today's Daily Mail, the club feels it is imperative to put the record straight on a number of points.

“There is always a danger that without appropriate response, the headline grabbing approach of tabloid journalism, based on innuendo and sensationalism rather than facts, creates a misguided belief along the lines of 'there is no smoke without fire'.

“For the record, STFC states categorically that it operates a zero tolerance approach towards racism.

“With regard to the specific complaint raised by Jonathan Tehoue, the Board was fully appraised of the facts at the time of the alleged incident back in March and having investigated it, was satisfied that it was without merit and took appropriate action then. The club will of course however happily assist the FA in its enquiries.

“The manager, Paolo Di Canio denies completely any suggestion that he used toward Jonathan Tehoue or anyone, abusive, insulting or threatening words or behaviour by reference to race or at all and the Board wishes to affirm its complete and unequivocal support for its manager in this regard.

“Further, the Board is wholly satisfied that any decisions concerning Jonathan Tehoue's playing career whilst at STFC, were made for purely footballing reasons.”