Chelsea have reacted today to the amateur video that was submitted to England’s The Guardian newspaper last night after their Champions League match against PSG.
The video shows a group of Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro singing, chanting and celebrating the match. Sounds pretty usual for a soccer match, right? Unfortunately, the video turns ugly when a black gentleman tries to get on the train. As he attempts to enter the train, the ‘fans’ push him off and begin chanting:
“We’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it, we like it.”
This disgusting display has no place in modern soccer, or society for that matter. To Chelsea’s credit, they have responded immediately, releasing this statement:
“Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society. We will support any criminal action against those involved in such behaviour, and should evidence point to the involvement of Chelsea season ticket holders or members the club will take the strongest possible action against them including banning orders.”
Regardless of the reaction from the club, some sort of punishment from UEFA for the Chelsea is likely. A fine and a written warning are most likely.
The man who caught the incident on camera, English expatriate Paul Nolan, was later interviewed by the Guardian, saying:
“I was just completely appalled by it and so that’s why I tried to catch some of it on my phone, although I was a bit self-conscious as it was getting quite aggressive and I overhead one of the Chelsea fans say something about stabbing someone. I think he was referring to a Paris Saint-Germain supporter who was on the platform”
Prior to the match, Parisian police were reportedly forced to use teargas on groups of Chelsea fans who were starting fights outside the stadium. This is sadly not the first time similar things have happened with Chelsea fans. Last year, when Chelsea were in Paris for another Champions League match, fans were reported to have caused issues in town. The damage was described as a rampage that featured the destruction of property and the use of Nazi salutes. This isn’t a problem with just Chelsea but it’s definitely something that the club needs to look into and deal with swiftly. This kind of thuggish behavior needs to be eradicated from modern soccer.
