Chelsea condemn fans who pushed black man off Paris Métro

Chelsea have strongly condemned a group of their supporters who have been caught on video singing a racist song and preventing a black man from boarding the Paris Métro.

The footage, obtained exclusively by the Guardian, shows the man repeatedly trying to squeeze on to a busy train only to be forcefully shoved out of the door and back on to the platform at the Richelieu – Drouot station before Chelsea’s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes. The fans on the train are then heard chanting a song that appears to be celebrating what has just happened and includes the line: “We’re racist, we’re racist and that’s the way we like it” while a black woman is standing directly in front of them.

The video immediately sparked widespread condemnation after being posted on the Guardian’s website and could lead to disciplinary action from Uefa if the governing body decides an event that happened away from the stadium is within its remit. Chelsea would feasibly face a fine and a warning.

The club said: “Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society. We will support any criminal action against those involved, and should evidence point to involvement of Chelsea season-ticket holders or members the club will take the strongest possible action against them, including banning orders.”

Paul Nolan, a British expatriate who filmed the clip on his phone, told the Guardian that he had arrived on the platform on Tuesday evening after finishing work.

“The doors were open and I could see and hear that a lot of chanting was going on,” he said. “It looked like it was quite aggressive so I just took out by phone to record it.”

He said that the train had been stopped for about three minutes when the man arrived on the platform and tried to get on.

“He was obviously completely shocked when they pushed him off. I don’t think he realised who they were. He then tried to get on again and got pushed off a second time.

“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.”

Nolan added that others on the platform looked on in disbelief: “There definitely was a culture shock. I heard a couple of French guys saying: ‘I can’t believe this. It’s insane.’”

French police reportedly used teargas outside the match venue amid scuffles involving Chelsea fans before the game.

Anti-racism group Kick It Out condemned the incident and called for Chelsea, and football, to avoid complacency over incidents of a similar nature. Its chairman Lord Ouseley said: “We know that prejudice is on the increase and that in itself leads to hateful attitudes and this sort of conduct.

“I was shocked that Chelsea fans were still behaving like this. I thought the club had made it quite clear and taken action about stopping any repetition, knowing Chelsea, how hard they’ve worked on these matters, with fans as well as players, that it was unlikely to occur.

“The fact it involved an assault as well, of the individual that they pushed off the train, was even more shocking. Clearly it sends out a strong signal to, not only Chelsea, but the whole of football, that you cannot be complacent and think the actions you’re taking are sufficient to deal with the scourge of racism, sexism, homophobia and anti-Semitism. We’ve got to do a lot more and not be complacent.”

Kick It Out hopes anyone implicated is banned from football, not just from Chelsea matches. “We’ll support any prosecution,” Lord Ouseley added. “Anyone who can be identified, if they have an association with the club, the club said it will take the strongest action, which would include banning those people from going to Chelsea football matches.

“I would hope it would extend to banning them from going to any football match. Chelsea need to make it quite clear, once again, that people who carry their prejudices around, please don’t come to football. We need to see that reinforced by all clubs, because it’s happening right across the country, not just one team.

“These attitudes are attitudes that are in our society and football can play a major part in helping to draw attention to ways in which we need to help people to change their attitudes.”

Lord Ouseley is uncertain if Uefa, European football’s governing body which was in charge of Tuesday night’s Champions League tie, can take action.

He added: “I think Uefa will inevitably look at it. It happened outside of the game, on a public transport system. Football, while it has to deal with those fans in a proper way - and the club is saying that it will - realistically you cannot simply look at it in a footballing context and make Uefa responsible for people who are travelling. The responsibility goes to the club and their travelling supporters.”

Chelsea fanzine editor David Johnstone believes the incident could have severe consequences for the club’s reputation. “Because of the actions of possibly half a dozen people on a Metro train in Paris all the supporters are going to be labelled as racist,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“I think the majority of Chelsea supporters are disgusted by what’s happened. The 2,000 who were in Paris today support a Jewish-owned football team where the majority of players are black and foreign.”