Chelsea permanently ban fan for racially abusing Man City star Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have permanently banned a fan for racially abusing Raheem Sterling during their home match at Stamford Bridge vs Manchester City on 8 December 2018. 

The club announced the conclusion of their own investigation after after allowing the police investigation to conclude in order to avoid prejudice. 

Six people have been sanctioned, the club have confirmed, with one banned permanently, despite no criminal offence caused, as the club operated under the civil standard of proof, determining with the help of two lip readers that he had used racially abusive words and broken the ticketing terms and conditions. 

A statement read: ”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.”

The club added that the five other fans charged have been handed bans for one to two years for “abusive language and threatening and aggressive behaviour”. 

Raheem Sterling during Saturday’s game (Rex Features)

The club labelled the behaviour of the fan banned permanently as “abhorrent” and insisted it would be inappropriate to offer a reduced sanction in exchange for attending an education course. 

The Blues underlined their “zero tolerance” approach to incidents of racism and urged fans to “remember that their words and actions can cause offence to those around them and to the wider community”.