Chelsea have warned they are prepared to ban any fans who prevented a black man from boarding a train in Paris and chanted: "We're racist and that's the way we like it."
Footage shows the commuter trying to board a Metro train in the French capital but he is blocked by what appears to be a group of Chelsea fans travelling to the Parc des Princes for the 1-1 draw with Paris St Germain on Tuesday night.
It is not confirmed if the men on the train were Chelsea supporters heading to the Champions League clash, but the club released a statement condemning the incident and said they will take action if supporters are found to be involved.
"Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society," the club said.
"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."
Former England player Stan Collymore took to social media to call for the men to be banned if they are Chelsea fans, tweeting:
Ian Wright, the ex-Arsenal and England forward, tweeted:
Chelsea fanzine editor David Johnstone believes the incident could have severe consequences for the club's reputation.
"Because of the actions of possibly half a dozen people on a Metro train in Paris all the supporters are going to be labelled as racist," he told BBC Radio Five Live.
"I think the majority of Chelsea supporters are disgusted by what's happened. The 2,000 who were in Paris today support a Jewish-owned football team where the majority of players are black and foreign."
In the video the group of men are seen gesturing at the commuter and pushing him out of the carriage when he tries to step in.
On a second attempt the man pointed to a space where he could stand but is pushed away again as he steps forward, before the group erupt into chanting while other train users look on from the platform bewildered.
The Guardian reported that Paul Nolan, a British expatriate, filmed the clip on his phone on his way home from work.
"The doors were open and I could see and hear that a lot of chanting was going on," he told the newspaper. "It looked like it was quite aggressive so I just took out by phone to record it."
He added: "He (the commuter) was obviously completely shocked when they pushed him off. I don't think he realised who they were. He then tried to get on again and got pushed off a second time.
"I was just completely appalled by it and so that's why I tried to catch some of it on my phone, although I was a bit self-conscious as it was getting quite aggressive and I overheard one of the Chelsea fans say something about stabbing someone. I think he was referring to a Paris St Germain supporter who was on the platform."
In the match itself, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 (AP)
Nolan went on to tell ITV he and other bystanders had been "shocked" by what they had seen.
He also said the fans were acting like "bouncers" by not letting people on the train.
Nolan added: "The train was mainly filled with Chelsea fans and when the doors opened I could hear lots of people chanting. But it wasn't a party atmosphere, it was aggressive.
"Then the black man walked down platform and tried to get on to the Metro but was pushed off twice.
"Even if he didn't understand the chant, he understood the sentiment that they were pushing him off because they didn't like him. Because of the colour of his skin.
"It was horrible to see. I didn't expect to see anything like that.
"It's a shame that something like this happened - it gives a bad image to sport and also to British people. It was really unpleasant."
Anti-racism group Kick It Out has condemned the incident and called for Chelsea to react strongly. The organisation's chairman Lord Ouseley said: “We know that prejudice is on the increase and that in itself leads to hateful attitudes and this sort of conduct.
“I was shocked that Chelsea fans were still behaving like this. I thought the club had made it quite clear and taken action about stopping any repetition, knowing Chelsea, how hard they’ve worked on these matters, with fans as well as players, that it was unlikely to occur.
“The fact it involved an assault as well, of the individual that they pushed off the train, was even more shocking. Clearly it sends out a strong signal to, not only Chelsea, but the whole of football, that you cannot be complacent and think the actions you’re taking are sufficient to deal with the scourge of racism, sexism, homophobia and anti-Semitism. We’ve got to do a lot more and not be complacent.”
Kick It Out hopes anyone implicated will be banned from attending all football matches. “We’ll support any prosecution,” Lord Ouseley continued. “Anyone who can be identified, if they have an association with the club, the club said it will take the strongest action, which would include banning those people from going to Chelsea football matches."
Uefa have said it's outside their remit to act on the incident, but said in a statement that: "Uefa condems all forms of discrimination and we are appalled by the incident which took place in the Paris Metro on Tuesday.
"However, as it occurred away from the stadium, it is outside UEFA’s remit to act. It is a matter for the local authorities to investigate further and UEFA supports any action that is taken."."
Fifa president Sepp Blatter was another who condemned the supporters' behaviour:
A statement from the Football Association read: "The FA fully supports Chelsea's position in seeking to ban any of the club's season-ticket holders or members who face criminal action in relation to these abhorrent scenes.
"The FA, like the club, completely condemn such disgraceful behaviour which is a criminal offence and those responsible should face the strongest possible punishment."
The Football Supporters' Federation meanwhile issued the following statement: "This is a shocking incident and the overwhelming majority of Chelsea fans will be disgusted by it. There's no place in society for this type of behaviour, and we back Chelsea FC's strong stance.
"The FSF has zero tolerance for discrimination and we'll continue to work with groups such as Kick It Out - with whom we run the "Fans For Diversity" campaign - to make sure football is a welcoming environment for all."
Tim Rolls, the chairman of Chelsea Supporters' Trust said: "We, the supporters’ trust, condemn the chanting and we support what the club have said about it. It is half a dozen people. I haven’t seen an incident of that type for decades in football. It is a great shame that it happened and 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. It is depressing that this has happened. It has to be put in a wider context. The vast majority of fans are not racist."
It's also emerged that some Chelsea supporters were singing anti-Semitic chants in Paris city centre, in a repeat of unsavoury scenes from when the two teams met in Paris last April.
Nicolas, a Jewish football fan who was outside the Frog and Rosbif pub on Tuesday and who asked only to be identified by his first name, said: "The yid chants were very easy for us to understand, and it is clear what they meant by the hissing too.
"They were acting like it was funny, but there is nothing funny about the Holocaust. I’d seen it last year, and it happened all over again. The strange thing is that the police made no arrests, either for the chanting, or for the fighting."
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