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Home / Sport / Football / English Premier League

Football: Racial abuse victim turns down Chelsea invite

By Matt Barlow
Daily Mail·
21 Feb, 2015 08:15 PM5 mins to read

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Souleymane S, the man racially abused by Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro, has declined an invitation to attend Stamford Bridge. Photo / Getty Images

Souleymane S, the man racially abused by Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro, has declined an invitation to attend Stamford Bridge. Photo / Getty Images

Souleymane S, the man who suffered racist abuse from Chelsea supporters as they denied him entry to a train on the Paris Metro has declined Jose Mourinho's invitation to Stamford Bridge, as police investigate a separate incident at St Pancras station.

Police have appealed for witnesses after reports of racist chanting at St Pancras by fans returning from France after Chelsea's 1-1 draw against Paris St Germain on Tuesday.

This second incident happened on Wednesday evening as the club were reacting with shock and disgust at the footage of the first, which showed a group of fans singing: 'We're racist and that's the way we like it' as they pushed Souleymane.

"I appreciate Mr Mourinho's invitation, but I can't get my head around being in a stadium at the moment," Souleymane told Le Parisien, after the Chelsea manager had offered him the chance to see the second leg of the Champions League tie on March 11, to prove what the west London club was really like.

Souleymane received a phone call from France's president Francois Hollande after the attack. PSG have been in touch and Chelsea have suspended five fans from Stamford Bridge pending further investigation.

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British Transport Police (BTP) are investigating the St Pancras incident which was reported by a traveller who had been on the Eurostar train with Chelsea supporters returning from the game.

Superintendent Gill Murray said: "Racist chanting was reported by a member of the public who was disgusted by the behaviour of the men who had travelled on the 6.40pm service from Paris Gard du Nord. The men shouted as they walked through the station having alighted from the train a short time earlier.

"Unfortunately there is still a minority who think it is acceptable to behave in such an abhorrent manner. There is more that needs to be done to publicly condemn this type of behaviour and British Transport Police is actively working with football clubs, the football authorities and other key agencies to tackle this appalling behaviour."

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Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck reiterated his vow to ban supporters for life if they were found to be involved in these incidents and wrote a column in the match-day programme for Saturday's game against Burnley dedicated to the matter.

"I would like to take this opportunity to express, on behalf of everyone at Chelsea Football Club, our disgust with regards to the incident that took place on the Paris Metro on Tuesday evening," said Buck.

"We were all appalled by what we saw and the club would like to apologise unreservedly to Mr Soulemane S for the behaviour of a group of individuals and their unforgivable actions towards him.

"We have been cooperating fully with the Metropolitan and Paris police forces in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. We have also been conducting our own investigation and all information from that is being shared with the police.

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"The people involved in that incident in Paris do not represent Chelsea Football Club and they do not stand for the values of this club and they have no place at this club. This has been echoed loud and clear by the vast majority of Chelsea supporters and we would like to thank the many fans who have come forward with information on this case.

"Chelsea FC is proud of its diversity. I can assure you that Mr Abramovich was disgusted with Tuesday night's scenes in Paris and like all of us he absolutely does not tolerate any form of discrimination.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was said to be disgusted by the incident. Photo / Getty Images

"We are proud to support the work of Kick It Out and Show Racism the Red Card, among other organisations as well as the work of the PL and the FA.

"Tuesday was a crossroads for us. Despite there only being a small group of individuals involved, it showed there is still work to be done to eradicate discrimination - in all its forms. We are determined to do all we can to wipe it out."

The Barclays Premier League game against Burnley yesterday was Chelsea's annual 'Game for Equality' and Mourinho and captain John Terry also spoke about their determination to tackle the problems.

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"This is our annual Game for Equality, when we show that this club stands against all forms of discrimination," said captain Terry.

"Football is a sport for everyone, that is one of the main reasons why we love and what happened on the Paris Metro on Tuesday was unacceptable. The club has reacted quickly to deal with the situation and will continue to do so."

Mourinho said: "Today is our Game for Equality, when we celebrate this club's diversity and also the work we do to show that football is for everyone and that Chelsea is dedicated to tackling all forms of discrimination."

- Daily Mail

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