A BURNLEY fan faces a life ban from the club if he is convicted of racially abusing former England and Manchester United player Paul Ince.

George Jackson, 44, of Lyndhurst Road, Burnley, was thrown out of Turf Moor during Tuesday night's match between Burnley and Wolves after allegedly directing monkey gestures at Ince, now a midfielder for the Midlands club.

He was arrested by police and charged with an offence of racially-aggravated harassment and will appear before magistrates next week.

Bosses at Burnley said today if convicted he would be banned for life from Turf Moor.

In a statement, the club said: "If he is found guilty of this alleged offence this man will be banned for life by the club.

"Burnley Football Club takes all allegations of racism extremely seriously."

Inspector Dave Croll, of Burnley police, match commander at Tuesday's game, said: "The charge relates to an allegation that monkey gestures were directed towards Paul Ince.

"The police and Burnley Football Club work very closely together to kick racism out of the game, and anybody who engages in racist behaviour and who is convicted by the courts will find themselves barred for life from the club they purport to love."

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC said: "Any suspicion of racism must be followed through, and Wolves will fully support the police and the courts in matters such as this.

"Paul Ince is a thorough professional and if racism was directed at him he would not allow it to affect his game, but he would want the authorities to take a strong stance."

Ince spent six seasons at Old Trafford playing for Manchester United after leaving West Ham.

Two Premiership titles and an FA Cup winner's medal later he was sold to Inter Milan, in Italy.

He returned to England after two seasons to join Liverpool before moving to Middlesborough and then Wolves. Ince won 53 caps for England under four different managers.