Chelsea fan banned for three years after admitting using homophobic abuse at Brighton

A 20-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or  behaviour  to cause harassment, alarm or distress and was also fined £965

Thursday 03 January 2019 21:48 GMT
Comments
John Barnes racism in football is 'not getting worse, but because we didn't hear it before it was getting better'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Chelsea supporter who admitted to using homophobic language in the stands during the club’s away fixture at Brighton on 16 December has been banned for three years.

Twenty-year-old George Bradley pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress and was also fined £965.

Sussex Police’s football policing officer Darren Balkham said: “This was a great example of the stewarding and policing operation at the stadium taking action when incidents occur.

“I would urge any supporter attending the Amex to report these incidents to either a steward or police officer to allow us to take action at the time.”

The fixture at Brighton, won 2-1 by Chelsea, came after the club condemned a “brainless” section of fans for shaming the club in the wake of four front row supporters being banned from attending matches after they were caught on camera racially abusing Raheem Sterling.

Then, just days later in the Europa League away at MOL Vidi, away supporters were heard chanting antisemitic slurs. ​

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in