A man who was blocked from boarding a Paris Métro train by Chelsea supporters has called for those involved to be jailed.
In an interview with Le Parisien, the man named by the newspaper as French-Mauritian Souleymane S says he could not bear to tell his wife or children about what occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the Richelieu-Drouot Metro station.
He was pushed back by what appeared to be a group of fans travelling to the Parc des Princes for the Champions League match against Paris St Germain.
A chant of ”We’re racist and that’s the way we like it” from the Chelsea fans was clearly audible on a video of the incident.
The man, reported by Le Parisien to be a chief operating officer at a business close to the Metro station, told the newspaper: “These people, these English supporters, have to be found, punished and should be locked up. What happened shouldn’t go unpunished.”
A source in the Paris public prosecutor’s office confirmed that police had begun an investigation into crimes of racial violence on public transport.
In London, Scotland Yard said it would study the video in an attempt to identify those involved.
Football hooliganism
The Paris inquiry was being handled by a police branch that specialises in crimes related to football hooliganism. The source said it was not the first time the Paris police had pursued foreign football supporters for breaking French law.
The first challenge for the inquiry would be to identify the Chelsea supporters shown in the video and also to find the victim – the black man shown being prevented from boarding the train at Richelieu-Druout station.
If found guilty, those responsible could face at least three years in prison and a fine of €45,000.
London Metropolitan police officers travelled to Paris for the game to minimise any trouble involving Chelsea fans. The force has a database of alleged troublemakers linked to Chelsea and will see if any of those people are pictured in the video. They will also use intelligence sources to help French police.
If it identifies those involved in the train incident, the Met said it would consider applying for orders to stop them travelling to future football games.
The Met said: “We will examine the footage with a view to seeing if we can apply for football banning orders, preventing people from travelling from future matches.
“We will, of course, assist French authorities to identify the people involved and support them in any action they choose to take. At the same time we will be working closely with Chelsea football club.”
Chelsea issued a statement condemning the fans and said they could be banned. “Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society. We will support any criminal action against those involved and, should evidence point to involvement of Chelsea season-ticket holders or members the club, will take the strongest possible action against them, including banning orders.”
Tim Rolls, of the Chelsea supporters’ association said: “It can never be justified or defended. The point has to be made they were 2,000 Chelsea fans there. The vast majority are not racist. We are a multi-racial club, you only have to look at our team.”
Guardian Service/PA
