Chelsea announced it suspended four supporters from attending games "pending further investigations" into alleged racial abuse suffered by Man City forward Raheem Sterling, according to Liam Twomey of ESPN.com. Video circulated on social media during Saturday's match that appeared to show a Chelsea fan "directing a racial slur at Sterling." Condemnation of the incident "was swift and widespread," with both Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police "quickly confirming that they were reviewing the footage in order to determine whether an incident of racist abuse had taken place" (ESPN.com, 12/10). In London, Jack de Menezes reported a Chelsea fan who was seated near the man accused of racially abusing Sterling "has spoken publicly to claim that he did not hear any racist language at the time," but said that the footage widely circulated from Saturday evening's match is "disgusting." Nathan Lewis, who is black, was seen in the video "no more than four seats away" from the man accused of abusing Sterling. When the video was widely shared on social media, a number of Twitter users "unknowingly pointed out" Lewis, given the race-related allegations, and he "appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday to give his account of what happened." Lewis said, "Raheem Sterling was getting a lot of abuse from all sections. However, I have to be honest and say I didn’t hear actually any racial abuse whatsoever" (INDEPENDENT, 12/10). In London, Tom Morgan reported Sterling confirmed to Scotland Yard that he was racially abused (TELEGRAPH, 12/10).
PFA, BARNES WEIGH IN: The Professional Footballers' Association "called for clubs to take strong action to tackle racism from fans" and echoed Sterling's statement that "imbalanced coverage of young black players" is fueling racist abuse. Former Liverpool and England player John Barnes said that "few people from ethnic minorities would be surprised by the abuse suffered by Sterling" as racism remains "prevalent" in British society. The PFA, which has been in contact with Sterling via his agent, said in a statement, "The PFA condemn, in the strongest terms, the increase in racial abuse our members have been receiving from the terraces. We encourage all clubs to take the strongest possible action for fans found guilty of racially abusing players." Barnes, 55, the victim of "persistent racism" during his playing days, said, "As much as overt racism in football had seemed to have disappeared, I for one never believed that it did. ... You speak to black people in the inner cities and they say, 'This is what we go through every single day'" (LONDON TIMES, 12/10).
