The UN human rights office denounced this week’s alleged racist behaviour by Chelsea fans in Paris, and urged that the fight against racism in Europe should be stepped up as a result.
The Guardian newspaper obtained video footage which appears to show fans singing a racist chant and stopping a black man from getting on a train in Paris on Wednesday.
Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN human rights office in Geneva, said that much clearly remained to be done to root out racism in sports and society at large, and that similar acts occur daily across Europe.
“It is important to build on the outrage created by this snapshot of the ugly face of racism, to re-energize the effort to combat it in all its forms wherever it occurs,” he said.
The incident happened before Chelsea drew 1-1 Paris St-Germain in Paris in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
The video footage has drawn widespread condemnation, and French police are investigating the case.
GNA
