The Chelsea fans who were accused of racially abusing Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling will not face any prosecution. Fans of the Blues were accused of abusing the 24-year-old Sterling during the clubs 2-0 defeat against the Citizens at Stamford Bridge in December. The Blues went on to suspend four fans from attending games while investigating the incidents.
The Crown Prosecution service have announced that there is not sufficient evidence to prove that the words said by 60-year-old Colin Wing were racist in nature. City star Sterling has been subjected to racism throughout his career and has been outspoken in the right against discrimination in football.
As reported by The Mirror, a CPS spokesman said: “Having carefully reviewed the evidence, including advice from a lip reading expert, we have found insufficient evidence to prove that the words used by one of the individuals were racially aggravated.”
He was recently presented with the Integrity and Impact Award which was founded by Dow Jones Sport Intelligence by England manager Gareth Southgate at the BT Sport Awards last Thursday. Sterling becomes the second person to receive the award after Rachel Denhollander who spoke out against abuse from former US Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar did so in 2018.
Sterling has been the central figure in a campaign fronted by UK publication The Times which has called for footballing authorities to have stricter measures for the way in which they tackle racism and to impose heftier sanctions on those who are found guilty of discrimination.
As a leading club in world football, Chelsea should also have a no tolerance policy towards racism as well as other discriminatory behaviour. If the Blues set the standards, there is a good chance that other clubs around the world will follow suit and this will improve the culture surrounding football on a global scale.
