Blues apologise to China for Kenedy’s offensive remarks
Pedro leaves pre-season tour
BEIJING, July 23, (RTRS): Chelsea apologised to their Chinese fans on Sunday for offensive comments made on social media by Brazilian player Kenedy and said the midfielder had been disciplined.
The 21-year-old Kenedy, who signed for the Premier League side in August 2015, made the remarks on his Instagram page on Saturday ahead of Chelsea’s preseason friendly against Arsenal in Beijing.
One of the posts was a picture of a security guard asleep which was tagged with: “Wake up China. You idiot.” Another carried an expletive in Portuguese. He later deleted the posts.
“Kenedy’s actions were a mistake that he will learn greatly from,” the club said on their website (www.chelseafc.com). “His behaviour does not represent the entire team and does not align with the club’s high expectations and strict requirements of its young players.
He has been strongly reprimanded and disciplined.
“Everyone at Chelsea Football Club has the utmost respect and admiration for China and loves our Chinese fans. It is because of this that the negative impact we have seen over the last two days has left us shocked and saddened. Once again, we sincerely apologise for the hurt caused to our Chinese fans as well as to the Chinese people.”
Kenedy himself addressed the issue after Chelsea’s 3-0 win at the Bird’s Nest stadium, in which he was jeered by sections of the crowd, saying he had not intended to cause offence. Writing on social media, he said: “Hello my friends, just wanna say sorry if someone was sad because I used (that) expression ... was no racism, just an expression.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea playmaker Pedro will leave the club’s pre-season tour and return to England after suffering a concussion during their 3-0 win over Premier League rivals Arsenal in China on Saturday.
The Spain international needed medical attention after colliding with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina in the first half and was replaced by midfielder Jeremie Boga. The 29-year-old was taken to a hospital in Beijing.
“Pedro stayed in hospital overnight in Beijing for observation having sustained a concussion and facial injuries in last night’s game against Arsenal,” the club said in a statement on their website on Sunday. (www.chelseafc.com)
“He will now return to London for further review.” The league champions will face German champions Bayern Munich in their next pre-season match in Singapore on Tuesday.
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LONDON: Crystal Palace winger
Wilfried Zaha has accused Manchester United and Liverpool fans of calling him a “black monkey” on social media.
“If Man United and Liverpool fans feel better by calling me a black monkey in my messages … feel free to carry on if it makes your day better,” the former Manchester United player posted on Instagram after his team’s 2-0 win over West Brom in the Premier League Asia Trophy in
Hong Kong on Saturday. Palace manager Frank de Boer had earlier said the 24-year-old
Ivory Coast international needed greater protection from referees after he received rough treatment during Saturday’s match.