Detectives investigating racist chanting by Chelsea fans at St Pancras station in London say they have identified all seven men.
The incident happened last Wednesday, after Chelsea’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain. It followed a separate incident on the Paris Métro the day before, when a man was subjected to alleged racist abuse.
The identification follows a public appeal by British Transport police (BTP), which released images of the Chelsea fans. They said the men would be interviewed in due course.
The alleged racist chanting on the 18.40 service from Paris Gare du Nord was reported by a disgusted member of the public, Supt Gill Murray said.
The previous day, Chelsea fans were filmed pushing a black man, Souleymane Sylla, off a Paris Métro and chanting racist abuse in the French capital.
On Wednesday, one man admitted being on the carriage during the incident, but said he was not involved in any racist behaviour.
John Kaye, a solicitor for Chelsea fan Jamie Fairbairn, 23, said his client denied preventing Sylla from boarding. He also denied using racist or threatening words during the incident, or throughout his visit to Paris and, later, at St Pancras station. He claimed that Fairbairn was not present at the St Pancras incident the following day.
Kaye added that his client had been suspended from his job and had been forced to move away from his home because of the intense media interest.
He said: “On behalf of Mr Fairbairn, I have been in contact with the Metropolitan police to offer Mr Fairbairn’s assistance as a witness.”
Another fan admitted last week that he was involved in an incident on the Paris Métro. Former police officer Richard Barklie, 50, apologised but denied he was a racist. He said he was not involved in any part of the racist chanting and said he “condemns any behaviour supporting that”.
Chelsea barred five fans from their stadium after footage of the Métro incident was published by the Guardian.
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