Chelsea F.C. to face disciplinary action over alleged antisemitic chants

The hearing will take place on February 28th, UEFA announced.

By REUTERS
Updated: JANUARY 15, 2019 14:14
Chelsea fans at a game between Vidi FC and Chelsea, December 13, 2018 (photo credit: REUTERS/MATTHEW CHILDS)
Chelsea fans at a game between Vidi FC and Chelsea, December 13, 2018
(photo credit: REUTERS/MATTHEW CHILDS)
 ZURICH - Chelsea are facing disciplinary action over alleged antisemitic chanting by their supporters during a Europa League match against Vidi FC in Budapest last month, UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The European soccer body said it had completed an investigation and that "in relation to the alleged racist incidents that occurred at the.... match, UEFA has announced that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated against Chelsea FC."
The hearing will take place on Feb. 28th, UEFA added.
British media reported some Chelsea supporters chanted offensive songs about Tottenham Hotspur fans early in their 2-2 draw in Hungary.
Chelsea issued a statement following the game describing antisemitism as "abhorrent to this club and the overwhelming majority of our fans."
Last year the Club launched an initiative called "Say No to Antisemitism.”
The team was introduced to Holocaust survivor Harry Spiro, who chillingly recollected his experiences in Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp located in present-day Poland where more than one million people were murdered, most of them Jews.
"These players are young, active men," said Chelsea Football Club Chairman Bruce Buck to The Jerusalem Post last October. "They are not used to sitting still for 45 minutes, they are used to running on the field."
“They listened to every word and asked some very intelligent questions,” Buck stated. “Afterwards... a number of them indicated how eye-opening this was for them.”
The idea for such an initiative came from Roman Abramovich, the Russian-Israeli owner of Chelsea Football Club, who suggested that a more intense approach to antisemitism in particular is a necessary move for the club.