Buck: Racism probe was a waste of time

CHELSEA chairman Bruce Buck has accused UEFA of wasting time by looking into allegations of anti-semitic chanting by the club’s fans. The governing body were investigating chants by Chelsea fans in the away leg of the Europa League tie against MOL Vidi in December. UEFA dropped the case on Thursday and the Premier League club escaped punishment, which could have resulted in a partial closure of Stamford Bridge. But Buck (right) took a swipe at UEFA after the announcement. ‘The charge in the first place was a waste of time,’ he said after collecting an award for Chelsea’s Say No To AntiSemitism programme at the London Football Awards. The song which was allegedly sung by Chelsea fans included a racist reference to Tottenham supporters. Speaking to London’s Evening

Standard, Buck continued: ‘Almost nothing happened (against Vidi). (UEFA) were wasting their time, effort and manpower on something like this and missing some of the big pictures. ‘We know we have problems now and then at Chelsea. One of the things we are trying to do is solve some of the problems we have, but we are not going to solve racism or anti-semitism. We just like to move the needle a little bit and encourage others to do the same.’ Buck’s comments are in stark contrast to a statement released by Chelsea in the immediate aftermath of the 2-2 draw with Vidi in Hungary. The club said the singing of any offensive songs was ‘abhorrent’ and questioned the ‘brainpower’ of their fans. Chelsea released a statement yesterday in a bid to explain their chairman’s comments, saying: ‘It is of course hugely important that allegations of discriminatory behaviour are investigated. It is a subject this club takes extremely seriously. We welcome UEFA’s decision in this case but our frustration and the chairman’s frustration was that they rushed to charge before conducting a full investigation.’ Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is frustrated that Fulham’s sacking of Claudio Ranieri and appointment of Scott Parker have hampered his tactical preparations for tomorrow’s match. He also fears Fulham will benefit from a new manager, saying: ‘Usually, when there is a change of coach, there is a reaction.’