A Chelsea supporter by the name of George Bradley has been banned from attending games for the next three years over charges of anti-gay abuse.
The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to shouting threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment during the match against Brighton & Hove Albion on Dec. 16. Chelsea took the win over the hosts at the Amex Stadium by 2 goals to 1.
Bradley has also been fined £965 by the Brighton’s Magistrate Court. It is still unclear whether the South London club themselves will take separate action one of their own fans.
A Brighton spokesperson said, “We would like to thank Sussex Police for their assistance in dealing with this unsavoury incident, and we are very pleased with the outcome. It underlines both their and our commitment to a zero tolerance policy on any form of abuse from those attending matches at the Amex. We would remind all fans that we will not tolerate any form of abusive behaviour at the stadium and will always take the strongest possible action.”
Darren Balkham, Sussex Police’s football policing officer said, “Mr Bradley pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and accepted his behaviour was not acceptable and this was recognised by the court.”
“I would urge any supporter attending the Amex to report these incidents to either a steward or police officer to allow us to take action at the time.”
Just last month Chelsea banned four fans from attending any home games over allegations of racial abuse directed towards Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling. The club’s fan base is also being investigated by the UEFA for chanting anti-semitic statements during a Europa League away game against Vidi.
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