February 20 – The 33-year-old victim of the highly publicised racist incident involving Chelsea fans on the Paris metro earlier this week says the perpetrators should be jailed for picking on him because is black – and is considering lodging an official complaint with police.
“I don’t speak a word of English … but it was clear to me they were picking on me because of the colour of my skin,” the man, identified by Le Parisien newspaper as Souleymane S, was quoted as saying. “I wanted to get into the carriage but a group of English fans blocked me and pushed me away.”
As Chelsea announced it had suspended three people from attending home games following an internal investigation, the Paris prosecutor’s office maintained its wider probe to find those responsible for chanting “We’re racist and that’s the way we like it” as they stopped a man boarding a train on Tuesday.
“If it is deemed there is sufficient evidence of their involvement in the incident the club will issue banning orders for life,” the English Premier League leaders said in a statement.
The incident was captured on video by another passenger on the platform at the Richelieu-Drouot station before Chelsea’s game with Paris St Germain in the Champions League. No arrests were made but the amateur footage posted on The Guardian newspaper’s website has been globally condemned.
Souleymane told Le Parisien he was used to racism but it was the first time it happened to him on the Paris underground.
“I took the next metro and went back home without telling anyone, not even my wife or kids. What would I have told my kids? That daddy was pushed in the metro because he’s black? These people, these English fans, need to be found and punished, and should be locked up.”
A statement from PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said the club “firmly condemn this intolerable act of discrimination while French League (LFP) president Frederic Thiriez said his organisation was considering filing a civil suit.
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