Police are reviewing whether they were right to tell a Jewish man there was not enough evidence to take action against his alleged assailant who admitted calling him a “Yid c***”.

Rob Goodman complained to Dorset Police after he was told no further action would be taken against a man who targeted him with the abusive language during a football match. 

Mr Goodman, who played in Littledown’s Wednesday league, said he was assaulted by two men during the game. 

He told police the first man told him to “f*** off you Yid c***” and elbowed him in his stomach, while another man ran up to him and punched him in the head.

The police originally told Mr Goodman, who is Jewish, that they did not deem the verbal abuse to be religiously aggravated, despite the first suspect admitting to using the words in a police interview. 

In an email from a Dorset Police officer, Mr Goodman was told: “Unfortunately, after all evidence has been gathered and both suspects interviewed… there will be no further action.”

Officers told Mr Goodman that the incident would not be investigated further because the suspect had “given a credible defence as to why this was said. There is not sufficient evidence to prove that this was a religiously aggravated statement on his part.”

But after it was contacted by the JC, Dorset Police said it was reviewing the case after complaints made by Mr Goodman.

Superintendent Jared Parkin, hate crime lead for the force, said it took Mr Goodman’s complaint “extremely seriously”.

He said officers dealing with Mr Goodman’s case had provided “a lack of clarity around the outcome of the investigation. Dorset Police is now reviewing the criminal investigation into Mr Goodman’s complaint.

“Hate incidents and crimes of this nature are without exception investigated thoroughly and I will ensure that this investigation is no different.”

Mr Goodman confirmed he was told the investigation would be reviewed.

“I have to wait and see. I was disappointed to be told they didn’t deem what happened to me to be racist in the first place. I felt it to be a hate crime and that is why I reported it,” he said.