CIA shares a message from Chelsea FC today in the lead up to tomorrow's away at Wembley... and at our pubs.
As Zola recently said, 'is it really worth putting the club and supporters in a bad light just to sing a negative song about Spurs?'
We have plenty of smart and funny songs to poke fun at the 'DVD club from North London' without having to resort to anti-social words.
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2019/1/7/keeping-support-positive
Here is the Chelsea FC post (omitting match attendance details):
We travel to Wembley tomorrow (Tuesday) for what promises to be an exciting first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
This fixture is always a passionate encounter both on the pitch and in the stands, but in light of recent events and after consultation between both clubs and the Metropolitan Police, we would like to remind supporters of their responsibilities in keeping support positive. We have repeatedly made our stance on discriminatory or abusive chanting abundantly clear, and chairman Bruce Buck last month wrote an open letter to supporters to further outline the strength of feeling within the club and of the vast majority of Chelsea supporters. Historically, a small minority has used the Tottenham fixture as licence to use antisemitic chants, noises and gestures, including the Y-word, offering the justification of opposition fans using terms as a form of identity. Our position is clear – this is no excuse for abusive chanting or behaviour and it will not be tolerated. This stance was last week supported by the World Jewish Congress and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who stated: ‘The word yid has for years been re-appropriated from its original Yiddish to carry a distinctly pejorative and antisemitic message, and its use by fans in the stands, either as a self-designated nickname or as a slogan against rivals must not be tolerated in any way.’ We hope everybody realises that use of such language can cause huge offence to those around them. Please get behind the team, and show your support in the right way as we seek a positive result to take back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg.