‘ANTI-SEMITISM PROBE WAS A WASTE OF TIME’
CHELSEA CHAIRMAN BUCK SAYS UEFA WERE WRONG TO CHARGE CLUB AS CHANTING CASE IS DROPPED
CHELSEA chairman Bruce Buck today claimed UEFAwere “wasting their time” in charging Chelsea following allegations of racist chanting during a Europa League game in December.
The Blues were cleared of any wrongdoing by European football’s governing body last night amid suggestions that a section of the club’s supporters engaged in anti-Semitic abuse during their 2-2 draw against MOL Vidi in Hungary.
No official reason was given for the case being dropped, but it is understood a lack of evidence was a key factor.
Buck believes UEFA were wrong to ever pursue Chelsea on what the club insist were unsubstantiated claims.
“The charge in the first place was a waste of time,” he said. “Almost nothing happened. I really thought they 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.”
Chelsea have worked hard to tackle the issue and their efforts were recognised at last night’s London Football Awards, where they won Community Project of the Year for their ‘Say No To AntiSemitism’ programme. The award was sponsored by the Evening Standard.
Buck revealed that the origins of the initiative came from a board meeting in which Jewish owner RomanAbramovich raised his concerns over an alarming rise in discrimination.
“His role was [coming up with] the idea at a board meeting in November 2017 when we went through the agenda,” said Buck. “He mentioned he noticed an increase in anti-Semitic activity over the last few years. He said: ‘Okay, you guys, we have a charity and there is the power of football. What can we do about this?’
“[This award] is good because sponsors are also interested in what their clubs are doing with charities, issues around diversity, and this is nice to show to them, but we haven’t done it for the kudos.
“We have prepared lots of literature to use to adapt without our logo on it. We’re just trying to get something done.”
The investigation came at a time in which manager Maurizio Sarri is under pressure to keep his job while the club organise an appeal against a FIFA transfer ban for the next two windows.
But Buck said: “I’ve been at Chelsea for 15 years and I guess I’ve known 15 years like this. When things happen, we deal with it.”