Paris: A shocking video emerged today of British football fans repeatedly pushing a black man off a train and chanting: ‘We’re racist and that’s the way we like it’.
The Chelsea supporters were filmed abusing the victim at Richelieu-Drouot station on the Paris Metro last night.
The footage shows the gang of white men refusing to let him on board despite there being enough space in the carriage.
The victim then remonstrates with the fans, asking them to let him on and pointing at a space, but the gang block the door and push him off again when he tries to board for the second time.
Another black passenger then walks off the train in disgust as the large group of fans chant: ‘We’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it, we like it, we like it.’
The Chelsea fans in the footage can also be heard chanting at French passengers: ‘Where were you in World War Two?’
There were also disturbing reports of large groups of fans singing anti-Semitic songs in Jewish areas of the city, hissing while imitating the sound of gas escaping.
Chelsea, who have condemned the ‘abhorrent’ abuse and have 22 black or foreign first team players, were playing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last night. The club also backed criminal charges for those involved.
Paul Nolan, a British expat who filmed the clip, told The Guardian: ‘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. There definitely was a culture shock. I heard a couple of French guys saying: ‘I can’t believe this. It’s insane’.’
Chelsea fanzine editor David Johnstone told BBC 5Live: ‘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.
‘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’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VJ4DF4bKR0
