The Bedford Town boss has also been given a £600 fine from the Football Association for improper conduct after a charge was upheld.

The incident occurred after Bedford Town’s defeat at Alvechurch on the 23rd of November 2024. Bircham was found to have breached FA Rule E3.2, an aggravated breach involving a protected characteristic, for comments allegedly referencing former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Bedford Town manager, Lee Bircham has been given a 9-match ban by the FA following the Eagles’ clash at Alvechurch in November 2024…

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— Tom Carr (@TomCarrPro) June 30, 2025

As per the FA written reasons, Lee Bircham was charged with breaching FA Rule E3.1 for improper conduct and/or using abusive/insulting words towards referee Abid Hussain, with the breach deemed an Aggravated Breach under FA Rule E3.2 due to alleged references to race, ethnic origin, or colour.

The factual allegations were that, in the club house, following the game Abid Hussain had approached Lee Bircham, as he was looking for the Bedford Town Secretary (to hand the Misconduct Form to). As Abid Hussain approached he alleges that Lee Bircham stated ‘here he is! Lost the election”. Abid Hussain alleges that this was a clear reference to the former Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and that the comment had been made solely because of the colour of Abid Hussain’s skin. Later, on the same night it is alleged that Lee Bircham stated to Cameron Danks, one of the Assistant Referees ‘Look at him, he’s fuming because he lost the election’. Cameron Danks further alleged that Lee Bircham stated that following being challenged by Abid Hussain, Lee Bircham stated ‘I don’t know what you are talking about, you look nothing like Boris Johnson’.

The FA presented witness statements, interview transcripts, WhatsApp exchanges, and incident reports from Abid Hussain, Cameron Danks, and others. Lee Bircham denied the charges, claiming the comments were taken out of context and related to AH’s evasive responses, not Rishi Sunak.

Evidence was heard from Lee Bircham, Abid Hussain, and Cameron Danks, with the Commission finding Lee Bircham’s explanation inconsistent and disingenuous.

The Commission determined that Lee Bircham’s initial comment (“lost the election”) was an implied reference to Rishi Sunak, made in front of players who laughed, humiliating Abid Hussain. The later comments to Cameron Danks were also confirmed, made after Lee Bircham knew Abid Hussain was offended. The Commission found the comments discriminatory and improper, constituting a breach of Rule E3.1 and an Aggravated Breach under Rule E3.2 due to the reference to Abid Hussain’s skin colour.

Considering Lee Bircham’s position as an experienced manager (aggravating factor) and his lack of prior similar offences (mitigating factor), the Commission imposed:

– A 9-match suspension from all domestic club football (excluding pre-season friendlies) until Bedford Town completes 9 competitive matches.

– A mandatory face-to-face education programme to be completed within 4 months, with failure leading to an indefinite suspension. A £600 fine. No costs ordered.

LB has the right to appeal per FA Regulations.

: Ouch

: Idiot. Making fun of a referee is never going to end well, especially if it’s done repeatedly.

: Have to say neither Bircham nor the ref come out well from this. Bircham for his shockingly lame banter and the ref for being such a drip.

: The referee is an outsider when he arrives at a football match. It’s important to make them feel welcome. Taking the piss out of them is pretty low and speaks a lot to the character of Bircham.

: The referee is an outsider when he arrives at a football match. It’s important to make them feel welcome. Taking the piss out of them is pretty low and speaks a lot to the character of Bircham.

: A friend who began officiating in the Isthmian League 30 years ago, and ultimately officiated at Champions League and international level, once told me it makes all the difference. Being greeted on arrival, asked whether you’ve visited that club before, would you like to be shown to the dressing rooms, is there anything else we can do for you etc. Two Isthmian League clubs in particular had a bad reputation for poor hospitality among match officials, and one senior figure at each would incessantly criticise the officials after the game. In this case it sounds like the manager made a big fuss about a relatively insignificant incident, realised the referee was irritated by it, so kept chirping away at him to wind him up on purpose. Perhaps he won’t be so immature in future.

: What alternative action was available to the referee that wouldn’t have got him a suspension or worse? Or should he just have laughed along with it?

LastBlueHero (on the Non League Matters forum): Recognised the referee’s name, so went back in my matches to see where I saw him. Should it be the same Abid Hussain, it was at Liversedge Vs Stocksbridge, another game which led to complaints about abuse towards the official, this time the fans against the referee. Hussain did make some big decisions (red card to home goalkeeper, penalty to away team) but I think he nailed both. I can’t remember what his general management of the game was like. And if anyone hasn’t been to Liversedge, the players and officials through this odd valley with the bar terrace over the ‘tunnel’, so he had the fans leaning over throwing all manner of insults and abuse towards him. This was a couple of weeks before this incident, so it seems like he had a torrid month, and it’s no wonder so many refs quit. Also, as someone who has spent time as a politico and has met Rishi Sunak, he bears no resemblance!

Daniel (on the Non League Matters forum): To be honest Abid Hussain does have a happy, cheeky smile like Rish Sunak – which is a compliment and am sure Lee Bircham won’t be the first person to have thought it, so I wouldn’t say that’s being racist, if you compare Tony Blair’s smile with someone elses it would be someone of the same skin colour. It is common for people to say x’s smile looks like a certain famous persons smile – people are often flattered by such comparisons – Rish Sunak always dresses smartly and if you look at the 40 past Prime Ministers on this list a lot of people would say he’s the best looking one. That said, Lee Bircham was obviously using it to make fun of Abid Hussain which is crossing the line and deserved to be punished for it. What I would like to see is the same strong punishments given to other people who intimidate, abuse or are sexist to referees – strong punishments make differences.