TWO MEN WERE arrested over alleged racially aggravated public order offences at Chelsea’s Premier League match with West Ham United, police have announced.
London’s Metropolitan Police is also investigating reports that Chelsea’s players had coins thrown at them during their side’s 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Missiles including coins appeared to be thrown at Chelsea’s players, including substitute John Terry, as they celebrated Frank Lampard’s opening goal in the 19th minute of the game.
The Football Associations says it will liaise with the police and the two clubs involved during any investigations.
Speaking to the Guardian post-match, Lampard said, “I wasn’t hit by anything. I went quite close to the West Ham fans but that was the natural curve of my run.”
West Ham United released a statement following the match, declaring they will assist the police in their investigations and will look at banning any supporters that ‘acted in an inappropriate way’ from attending further matches.
The midfielder, who scored his 200th goal for the Blues, spoke to the BBC after the match.
He spoke about nearing Bobby Tambling’s goalscoring record, for Chelsea, of 202 goals:
YouTube credit: clipz143
Reacting to the goalscoring milestone on his blog, Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata said:
“Probably the best moment of the match was Frank Lampard’s header, his 200 goal as a Blue. It’s amazing.
“Congratulations to him. Here is my respect and admiration for a team mate that is a living legend of our club, and of European football.”
Additional reporting - © AFP, 2013
