Chelsea condemn alleged anti-Semitic chants

UEFA are investigating reports of antisemitic chants being sung by a section of Chelsea supporters during their game with MOL Vidi.

This investigation becomes the latest episode in a series of discriminatory allegations made against the Premier League side; it comes three days after four Chelsea supporters were suspended following allegations of racial abuse towards Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling.

A Club spokesperson said: “Antisemitism and any kind of racial or religious hatred is abhorrent to this club and the overwhelming majority of our fans.

“It has no place at Chelsea or in any of our communities.

“Any individuals that can’t summon the brainpower to comprehend this simple message and are found to have shamed the club by used using anti-Semitic or racist words or actions will face the strongest possible action from the club.”

Chelsea, who had already qualified for the knock-out stages, drew in Hungary with free-kicks from Willian and Olivier Giroud.

UEFA will await the referee’s report before deciding on whether action will be taken.

Press Association journalist Matt McGeehan said the chanting was easily audible in the stadium.

“It was very early in the match.

It was a chant that Chelsea supporters have done in the past and it references Tottenham supporters using the ‘y’ word, the anti-Semitic derogatory word about Jewish people.

I understand that Chelsea are angry from the top to the bottom of the club – the very top actually because owner Roman Abramovich is Jewish.

They are furious. Not just that this happened again to their club but because of the proximity to the incident last Saturday with Sterling.”

Matt McGeehan, Press Association Journalist speaking to BBC Sport.

Blues Chairman Bruce Buck told the Sun newspaper in October that the club may require separate ways of punishing supporters rather than banning them; suggesting fans found guilty of antisemitic abuse visit the site of Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz.

“If you just ban people, you will never change their behaviour,” he said.

Chelsea run a Say No to Anti-Semitism scheme, which began in January, that provides one-to-one education courses.

A group of 150 people, consisting of Chelsea club staff, stewards and supporters, visited Auschwitz in June to learn about the deaths of more than a million people killed there between 1940 and 1945.