February 18 – Chelsea fans have brought shame on their high-flying English Premier League club after video footage appeared to show a group of them chanting racist slogans as they prevented a black man from boarding a train ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Paris St Germain.
In the amateur footage, which has been flashed around the world, a group of fans can be heard singing: “We’re racist, we’re racist and that’s the way we like it.”
The footage was obtained by The Guardian newspaper which reported that the incident happened in the centre of the French capital.
The paper quoted a British expatriate Paul Nolan, who filmed the incident on his phone, as saying the man trying to board the train was “completely shocked” when he was pushed off. Nolan also told the BBC it was a “very aggressive” scene.
“There definitely was a culture shock. I heard a couple of French guys saying: ‘I can’t believe this. It’s insane’.” he said.
A Chelsea spokesman was quick to condemn the behaviour saying it had “no place in football or society”.
“Should evidence point to the involvement of Chelsea season ticket holders or members of the club, we will take the strongest possible action against them including banning orders,” he added.
But there was no commitment in his statement to a club investigation into the fans who were travelling to the Champions League match against Paris St Germain wearing Chelsea colours. There is video footbage of the fans and English police and football security authorities have become adept at identifying abusive and violent supporters from this kind of evidence. Plus the fans were ticket holders for the match.
Chelsea’s image was further tarnished when UEFA issued a statement denouncing the racism-fuelled scenes in Paris but stressing it was powerless to act.
“UEFA condemns all forms of discrimination and we are appalled by the incident which took place in the Paris Metro on Tuesday,” the statement said.
” However, as it occurred away from the stadium, it is outside UEFA’s remit to act. It is a matter for the local authorities to investigate further and UEFA supports any action that is taken.”
On the pitch, Chelsea, seven points clear at the top of the premier League and among the Champions League favourites, were saved from an embarrassing last-16 first-leg defeat by the brilliance of their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. But the 1-1 draw was overshadowed by the racist incident.
Chelsea have had a history of being linked with allegations of racism. Although the club have a Jewish owner and chairman, Chelsea fans have been known to make hissing noises at rival Tottenham Hotspur supporters imitating the gas chambers of the Holocaust. Tottenham have a long Jewish-backed tradition.
Three years ago, despite being found not guilty in a court of law, Chelsea captain John Terry was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 for racially abusing then Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand following an independent inquiry commissioned by the English Football Association. It partly led to his decision to retire from international football.
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