The racist abuse directed against businessman Ali Askir by individuals leaving Belfast's Windsor Park stadium after an international match was entirely unacceptable and has been rightly condemned by the Irish Football Association.
Mr Askir said his car, distinctively branded with the logo of the Irish Curry Awards which he helps to organise, was attacked by a group of thugs who also directed crude and offensive chants against him in a street close to the ground on Saturday afternoon.
He escaped uninjured but was shaken by the ordeal and it is appropriate that IFA officials have invited him to attend a forthcoming game as their VIP guest.
It is also essential that the police, who are treating the incident as a hate crime, ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought before the courts.
