A Chelsea supporter has been permanently banned for racially abusing Manchester City and England star Raheem Sterling.
The incident relates to the Premier League match between the two clubs on December 8, 2018.
As Sterling went over the retrieve the ball for a throw-in, he was targeted by a group of Chelsea supporters and told police that he did hear a racist slur.
In the immediate aftermath Chelsea announced they had suspended four people from attending their matches pending further investigations.
And now their plan of action has been revealed.
An official statement reads via Chelseafc.com reads:
"Chelsea Football Club has issued sanctions against six people regarding their behaviour during our match against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on 8 December 2018.
"The Club delayed reaching its decision in these cases in order to ensure that it did not prejudice the related police investigation.
"The Crown Prosecution Service has, however, recently announced that it has elected not to initiate any criminal prosecutions.
"This allowed the Club to conduct its own investigation, which included seeking representations from the individuals concerned, reviewing video evidence, interviewing potential witnesses and obtaining expert opinions from two lip reading professionals.
"All individuals sanctioned as a result of our investigation were then offered the right to appeal and, where applicable, those appeals have been heard."
The sanctions issued are summarised below:
"One individual has been permanently excluded from Stamford Bridge for the use of racially abusive language and threatening and aggressive behaviour.
"Prior to making its decision, the Club noted the decision of the CPS not to charge this individual with a criminal offence. While the Club respects the decision of the CPS, the question that it had to determine was not whether a criminal offence had been committed, but rather whether the individual acted in breach of the ticketing terms and conditions.
"In this regard, the Club operates to the civil standard of proof, which is entirely different to the criminal standard.
"In reaching its decision, the Club took into account the denial made by the individual as well as a range of other evidence, including video evidence and evidence from two lip reading experts - both of whom advised that the individual had used words that are racially abusive.
Read more for the statement in full.
