QPR’s Chris Ramsey calls for authorities to ‘weed out’ racist Chelsea fans

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/19/chris-ramsey-qpr-manager-racist-chelsea-fans-paris

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QPR’s Chris Ramsey, the Premier League’s only black manager, has called on the authorities to weed out the racists who were caught on camera on the Paris Métro on their way to watch Chelsea in the Champions League.

Chelsea announced on Thursday night that they have suspended three people from Stamford Bridge after launching their investigation into the amateur footage obtained by the Guardian, which showed Chelsea football fans preventing a black man from boarding the train, forcefully pushing him back on to the platform at Richelieu-Drouot station before the match on Tuesday. The fans are then seen to chant: “We’re racist, we’re racist and that’s the way we like it.”

The victim, named as Souleymane S, has since called for the Chelsea fans to be “found, punished and locked up”.

Paris prosecutors confirmed that the French authorities were working with their British counterparts after the victim made a formal complaint but that their investigation was in its very early stages.

Anyone convicted could also face a prison term of up to three years and a fine of up to €45,000 (£33,000), with Chelsea, anti-discrimination bodies and fans groups all calling for a severe punishment.

Ramsey said: “Chelsea is a massive club and do good things in the community and I feel sorry that they have been tarnished with this brush – sometimes you can’t control what people do in their personal lives. I don’t believe that they are Chelsea fans. I don’t believe that they are fans of football. They are acting in a manner we all think is a thing of the past.

“I wouldn’t be blaming Chelsea for that. People with those views, they are intrinsic in everyday life. As much as it is something that has happened in football, these are really social issues that manifest themselves in the real world. We look at football being the be all and end all of sorting out social problems, but social problems just infiltrate football.”

Ramsey said he had been on the end of racism in football numerous times. “A lot,” he said. “I started in 1978 so take from that what you may. Things were very different and through the eighties, nineties and up to now. Racism is not something that gets eradicated, it gets shuffled about and hidden in places you wouldn’t believe. I don’t want to go into the details.

“I want to focus on what happened in that situation in Paris so everyone shines a spotlight on that and that doesn’t happen again. It would be good to know what the authorities are going to do to weed these people out and what sanctions they will enforce to make this an avoidable situation in the future.”

Ramsey praised the passenger at the station who filmed the abuse on his mobile phone. “It is a very brave person, someone who is thinking about the consequences, about what could have been in that situation. I would encourage people to make sure that the perpetrators are known and try to eradicate it.”