Chelsea FC sit atop the table in the Barclay’s Premier League. They’ve led wire to wire this season and are/have been the runaway favorites to win the 2014-15 championship. Unfortunately, Chelsea also tops the table in racist incidents perpetrated by their supporters. Five Chelsea fans will be in court this week because of an ugly bigoted incident in which they stopped a black man from boarding a Paris Metro train.
The Blues fans sang a tune with racist abusive language while denying the man entrance to the train car. This all occurred ahead of their Champions League clash at Paris St. Germain last month, and the perpetrators face potential bans from football grounds, if found guilty, according to the Mirror. Video of the incident trended worldwide for days in traditional media, new media and social media.
It even inspired West Ham supporters to make a parody (link).
According to the Press Association, British Transport Police report they have dealt with 15 alleged incidents of racism involving Chelsea fans on trains since 2012. That’s an average of five per year and the worst of any English side. Fellow big money, big club rivals Manchester United are tied with Leeds United for “second place” with 10 incidents a piece. West Ham follows with eight and Arsenal have four. However, it’s Chelsea that carries the flag as being the most bigoted supporter group; on the heels of that Paris Metro Station incident.
It also doesn’t help that the Chelsea logo, brand and club location are all synonymous with big money elitism to begin with. Chelsea is named for the West London neighborhood in which they reside, and it’s very posh. Their home ground, Stamford Bridge, is a stone’s throw from some of the most upscale shopping and world class spas in what is arguably the world’s most expensive city. The neighborhood bordering Chelsea, known as Knightsbridge, might in fact be the most posh place in all of London. Fancy that Harrod’s, a department store where the Queen shops, is also located in Knightsbridge, and you can’t turnaround in any direction without seeing loads of high-end luxury automobiles.
The streets of Knightsbridge and Chelsea are always filled with Aston Martins, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mercedes-Benzs, Maseratis, Porsches et al. It’s a playground for the super-rich, and it’s close proximity to Chelsea Football Club factors into the reputation people have for the side. It also doesn’t help that the team often spends the most money buying the best players from all across the world every transfer window.
The Blues win a helluva lot too, so add it all up and there’s a lot to envy and detest about Chelsea. The racist incidents are a very bad look for anybody; but especially so for a club that possesses a high falutin’ reputation. Incidents of bigotry take on an air of condescending elitism.
It’s good to see #StamfordBridge get proactive in the fight against racism in football. #Chelsea fans have a bad rep pic.twitter.com/jAYcnR85Au
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) March 24, 2015
Of course, Chelsea is doing whatever they can to fight against these broad sweeping generalizations of their brand. As a counter-offensive to the negative PR, the stadium ground brandishes messages promoting tolerance, acceptance and inclusion. You’ll see a poster reading “Support Chelsea. Support Equality” and “Give the red card to racism.”
Sounds like a great idea. Let’s all heed that advice.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)