Here we go again with a small group of Chelsea fans engaging in deplorable behavior, singing offensive, discriminatory chants. Once again a tiny group of Chelsea supporters took a sweet, beautiful song and made it into an instrument of racial abuse.
Ahead of the Premier League’s headliner fixture this weekend, Chelsea at Liverpool, a group of six male Blues backers were sang “Salah is a bomber,” to the tune of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” in a Prague pub. The video, which circulated worldwide yesterday, is below:
https://twitter.com/EnRouteEdition/status/1116334636731387904
Chelsea were in town for a Europa League match against Slavia Prague, and three of the men in the video were reportedly denied access into Eden Arena for the game. The other three were believed to have stayed away from the venue. Salah, who is Muslim and has inspired some people all across the world to convert to Islam, was a Chelsea player for two years.
An official statement from Chelsea FC that reads:
“Chelsea FC finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour abhorrent and where there is clear evidence of Chelsea season ticket holders or members involved in such behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action against them.”
“Such individuals are an embarrassment to the vast majority of Chelsea supporters who won’t tolerate them in their club.”
Club statement. https://t.co/tMqiV6H53Z
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 11, 2019
This incident was very reminiscent of another racist episode perpetrated by Chelsea fans, in February of 2015. A group of Chelsea fans, again in another country for a European match, were aboard a Paris metro train and prohibited a black man from boarding the train.
While doing so, they sang “we’re racist, we’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it, we like it” to the tune of “I Will Follow Him” by Peggy March.
Liverpool Football Club statement.https://t.co/sSGj4ggtks
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 11, 2019
Additionally, over the course of the past year, we’ve seen numerous other incidents of discrimination from Blues supporters, including Anti-Semitic chants aimed at Tottenham Hotspur and racist abuse of Manchester City star Raheem Sterling.
While episodes involving Blues fans continue to consistently make the headlines worldwide, one must remember that bigotry is not a problem confined to supporters of the west London side. As Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said “racism is everywhere.”
“It’s disgusting , another example for some people of what should not happen,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp at a Friday news conference.
“We should not see it as a Chelsea thing or a Liverpool thing. It’s another sign something is going wrong outside there. It is still only a few people but the stronger the reaction from all of us the stronger it will help to avoid things like this in the future.”
“These are football fans so if you do something like that you should not be able to enter a stadium again. From my point of view in life it is a misunderstood view. Some people think they are more valuable than others and that is the biggest misunderstanding in the world out there.”
“As a part of the football community I say these people should not be involved. Football is an example how different people, different races can work together brilliantly.”
“Choose any dressing room, nobody cares where they came from, who your parents were. They are interested, of course, but that is never an issue. At the very least they should not be allowed to be part of the football community again.”
Klopp’s commentary comes after Liverpool released the following statement on the matter:
‘The video circulating online, showing vile discriminatory chants being aimed at one of our players. This behavior needs to be called out for what it is – unadulterated bigotry. Liverpool Football Club believes it is the responsibility of those in positions of authority, following proper process, to act urgently to identify and then punish anyone committing a hate crime.”
“There is no place for this behavior in football, there is no place for it in society. A crime of this nature has more victims than any individual it is aimed at and, as such, collective and decisive action is needed to address it.”
‘The club is working with Merseyside Police and Chelsea on the matter. We thank (Chelsea) for their condemnation and a commitment to act urgently to identify any individuals responsible.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.