After racism cases, Chelsea chairman says ‘unpleasant’ minority shaming club

Bruce Buck condemns ‘actions of a few mindless individuals’ following racist, anti-Semitic chants at soccer matches, says club must ‘come together to stamp out these ugly scenes’

By AFP and ToI Staff 18 December 2018, 8:15 pm

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In this February 13, 2018 photo, Chelsea FC chairman Bruce Buck speaks during the Qatar National Sports Day 2018 event at Stamford Bridge Stadium, in London. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)

LONDON — Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has blamed a “deeply unpleasant but vocal minority” for shaming the soccer club’s fans in an open letter following recent incidents of abuse.

The Premier League club and police opened investigations after alleged racist abuse was directed at Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, who is black, by a section of home supporters at Stamford Bridge earlier this month.

Chelsea suspended four supporters pending an investigation.

And minutes into last week’s Europa League clash with Vidi in Budapest, a vocal minority of Chelsea fans were heard singing a derogatory chant about Tottenham supporters, featuring anti-Semitic language. A group of fans was also photographed holding a banner with a Nazi insignia.

European governing body UEFA on Tuesday announced it had launched an investigation into the chants, with the results due to be published next month.

“After recent events, I wanted to take this opportunity to reach out to our community and fans to condemn the actions of a few mindless individuals at some of our recent matches,” Buck said in the letter published on Tuesday on the club’s website.

“These actions are unacceptable and unwelcome both in our club and in football.”

Chelsea English Premier League soccer fans from the “headhunters,” an extremist fan group known for hooliganism, in Budapest on December 13, 2018, holding a banner with a depiction of the SS-Totenkopf, a skull and bones graphic used by the Nazis. (Twitter screen capture)

“A deeply unpleasant but vocal minority which refuses to join us in the 21st century has shamed the great majority of our decent, well-behaved fans.”

He said the club “must all come together to stamp out these ugly scenes,” listing a number of initiatives that Chelsea have been involved in to tackle discrimination.

“If you do not share these values, this is not the club for you,” he said.

“We must not allow a small minority of fans to bring further embarrassment upon us, and will continue to take the strongest possible action against them.”

Chelsea in January launched a campaign to raise awareness and educate about anti-Semitism in soccer, and the club — including its Russian-Israeli owner Roman Abramovich, who is Jewish — has expressed disgust at the anti-Semitic chant.