Chelsea Football Club promises to ban antisemitic fans as Hertfordshire Constabulary investigates incident at Watford match

Chelsea Football Club has vowed to ban any fans found to have used antisemitic slurs or behaviour at Monday’s match against Watford Football Club.

According to the BBC, Jewish Chelsea fan and anti-racism activist Jonathan Metliss, was left “disgusted” by the antisemitic chanting he heard at the match.  In an online post, Mr Metliss said: “They were singing…to the tune of Smoke gets in your eyes, about Martin Chivers being a Jew and being circumcised, along with the usual ‘yiddo’ chants.”

Mr Metliss said that he took photographs of the alleged perpetrators before raising awareness of the incident with stewards who moved him to a family area “for his own safety”. Mr Metliss reported the incident to Hertfordshire Constabulary and Watford Football Club, who are leading a joint investigation into the incident.

Chelsea Football Club issued a statement saying: “Antisemitism has no place in our club, football or wider society. Anyone found guilty of antisemitic language or behaviour will face action from the club, including bans, and will be asked to attend equality education courses. We welcome the fact that fans have reported this behaviour, which shames our club.”

Sadly, this incident took place shortly after Chelsea launched its “Say No to Antisemitism” campaign.

We commend Mr Metliss for reporting this matter and gathering evidence, and Chelsea Football Club for its clear statement, but we regret that Watford Football Club’s stewards did not act, giving brazen antisemites the opportunity to escape justice. We will follow the police investigation with interest.