YORK City chairman John Batchelor and the Supporters' Trust have backed the National Anti-Racism Week of Action which kicks-off tomorrow.

The football-led campaign runs for ten days and comes just days after Emile Heskey and Ashley Cole suffered a torrent of racist abuse during England's clash with Slovakia in Bratislava at the weekend.

The key messages of the campaign have been backed by City, who under the previous chairmanship of Douglas Craig gained notoriety as the only Football League club not to sign up to the Kick It Out charter.

No such charter now exists for clubs to actually sign-up to, however, City chairman John Batchelor insisted if it did the Minstermen "would be the first on the list".

"I endorse the campaign absolutely," said Batchelor. "In this day and age I just could not believe what was happening in Slovakia."

Batchelor said messages of support for the week of action will be broadcast over the Tannoy at Bootham Crescent on Saturday, when City entertain Bristol Rovers in a Division Three clash.

The campaign has also been backed by the City Supporters' Trust, who revealed it plans to work closely with the club in the coming months on promoting an anti-racism message.

Trust representative Sophie McGill said: "The campaign is to help tackle racism and prejudice within communities and to make the game more accessible to all.

"We are pleased that the club is now making progress to improve its image in this area."

One of the aims of the Trust is to "widen interest in football regardless of the sex or ethnic origin of those involved".

McGill added: "Over the next year the Trust plan to work with the club to help further deliver the message that discrimination is not tolerated at Bootham Crescent."

The National Anti Racism Week of Action, organised by Kick It Out, will have an international element with a Europe-wide week of action running simultaneously.

The European week of action has been organised by the FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) network, and will involve activities in Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, Scandinavia and France.

Closer to home and as part of the week of action, the life and career of former City winger Albert Johanneson, one of the first black players to play for Leeds, will be discussed at a question and answer session at Leeds Town Hall tomorrow involving school children and Leeds United's Harpal Singh.

On Saturday, October 26, the Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery will host 'In A League Of Its Own' exhibition, detailing the life of Arthur Wharton, the first professional black footballer.

Updated: 10:59 Wednesday, October 16, 2002