Chelsea Bans 5 Fans for Life for Racist Incident on Paris Train

Chelsea have issued lifetime bans to the five supporters recently levied with sanctions by magistrates following incidents in Paris earlier this year.

The news was confirmed in a statement on the club’s official website, in which it’s noted Stratford Magistrates’ Court in London sanctioned the men with “multi-year banning orders.” But the Blues have taken the matter further, prohibiting those involved from watching the team again:

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The club will always reserve the right to decide who purchases tickets to attend Chelsea matches, and the behaviour of these five individuals was abhorrent, against all of the club’s values and falls way below the standards the club expects of supporters attending our games.

Therefore the club’s bans permanently prohibit any of these individuals from attending Stamford Bridge or purchasing tickets from the club for any future matches.

The club will continue to take action against any supporters we feel behave in an anti-social manner and will cooperate with the relevant police authorities with any future investigations.

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As noted by Steve Robson of the Daily Mirror, supporters in the French capital for Chelsea’s Champions League match with Paris Saint-Germain in February were captured on camera racially abusing Souleymane Sylla. After an investigation, the Stratford Magistrates’ Court handed bans to those involved that totalled 23 years, with Dean Callis accepting his ban earlier, and branded “abhorrent” by district judge Gareth Branston.

Richard Barklie, Josh Parsons, William Simpson, Jordan Munday and Callis are the quintet who have received bans, and it’s encouraging to see Chelsea taking such a strong stance on those found of wrongdoing.