Nottingham Forest face FA charge after two fans arrested during Chelsea win
Nottingham Forest face being charged by the FA after two of their supporters were arrested for chanting an offensive song during their win over Chelsea on Saturday.
Forest defeated the Blues 1-0 thanks to Anthony Elanga's second-half strike, the first time the Midlands side have won at Stamford Bridge for 28 years. But that win was marred by reports that the 'Chelsea rent boy' chant had been heard being sung by away supporters.
As Mirror Football exclusively revealed, the chant was classified as a homophobic hate crime by the Crown Prosecution Service in January 2022. Following the first prosecution under those laws this January, the FA updated their guidance so that clubs can be charged if their fans are heard singing the chant.
That could now lead to Forest being charged under FA rule E21, which governs discriminatory behaviour. According to the Daily Mail, two Forest fans were ejected from Stamford Bridge following arrests made by Nottinghamshire Police officers.
FA charges will not automatically follow, though Wolves were handed a £100,000 find in July after their 'inadequate response' to rent boy chants during a clash with Chelsea in April. Instead, the FA will wait for reports from the police before deciding on whether to take action against Forest.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
The governing body warned clubs in January that stronger action will now be taken against clubs. That followed homophobic chanting by Forest fans against Chelsea in a game at the City Ground on New Year's Day.
Nottingham Forest's win over Chelsea was marred by reports of homophobic chanting (MB Media/Getty Images)The letter read: "We have formally written to all clubs across the Premier League, EFL, National League, Women’s Super League, Women’s Championship and Steps 2-4, to remind them that it can pursue formal disciplinary action against any club whose supporters engage in discriminatory behaviour, now including the use of the term ‘Rent Boy’.
"The FA has now informed all clubs that it considers the ‘Rent Boy’ chant to be a breach of the FA Rules. These rules apply to the conduct of supporters at both home and away fixtures, and clubs at all levels of English football have a responsibility to ensure their spectators behave appropriately when attending matches.
"We take all allegations of discrimination extremely seriously and would encourage anybody who has been subject to, or a witness of incidents of discrimination, to report it to the FA, the club or the relevant authorities so it can be investigated thoroughly."
Back in February, Chelsea Pride chair Tracy Brown explained why the chant was hurtful to the LGBT+ community. And she called on fans to accept that it was no longer a chant that should be heard in football grounds.
We've had people, not only from Chelsea, who have heard this consistently over the years which has kept them away from football. Because at the end of the day, there's so many different versions about where this story comes from," Brown told Mirror Football.
"But it is homophobic. It's classed as a homophobic hate crime by the CPS and at the end of the day, we have to see it that way. Whether people agree with it or not, whether it offends them or not, that's another matter.
"It's resepecting people within our community. I've even had arguments with some of our own fans who are like 'well it doesn't offend me'. If you're a white, straight man, it's not going to affect you.
"But that isn't the point. The point is it's seen as being homophobic, it is homophobic and the CPS can charge it as a hate crime."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
