Chelsea defend Conor Gallagher after the Premier League star’s Instagram was flooded with comments calling him racist, over a video clip appearing to show him ignoring a black mascot
- Clip of Chelsea captain Gallagher appearing to ignore a black mascot ahead of Saturday’s match with Burnley went viral on social media
- Blues responded with a strongly worded statement after Gallagher was accused of being racist on social media
- Four points from safety and a favorable run of fixtures… Burnley sniff out the great escape – Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Chelsea have condemned the ‘completely unacceptable’ abuse of Conor Gallagher following footage of the England international in the tunnel with a young mascot before the match against Burnley.
Gallagher has since been dogged on social media after the captain accidentally ignored a high-five from the youngster, leading to trolls accusing the 24-year-old of racism.
That’s despite the entire clip showing Gallagher greeting him beforehand and walking out of the tunnel with his companion as Chelsea played out a 2-2 draw with Burnley at Stamford Bridge.
The London club now has one angry statement in response to Gallagher’s abuse, writes: ‘Chelsea Football Club is aware of a video clip circulating on social media of Saturday’s match against Burnley which has been significantly taken out of context.
‘The subsequent level of abuse and defamatory comments towards Conor Gallagher is completely unacceptable.
Chelsea have condemned the ‘completely unacceptable’ abuse of Conor Gallagher, who was accused of being ‘racist’ on his social media accounts after allegedly ignoring a black mascot.
The young mascot raised his hand for a handshake from Gallagher, but was initially ignored in a video that was then widely circulated on social media
“We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome.”
As Gallagher prepared to lead the team at Stamford Bridge, the young mascot raised his hand hoping for a handshake.
But Gallagher seemed to ignore him and instead put his arm around another – white – mascot standing next to him in the tunnel.
Even though a later photo showed Gallagher with his arms around both mascots seconds into the original clip, his social media has been flooded with accusations that he is “racist.”
On a recent Instagram post featuring Gallagher playing for England last week, the comments included “the king of racism”, “no to racism” and “black lives matter”.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino said at his pre-Manchester United press conference when asked about Gallagher: ‘That has upset me so much. Because no one wants to do something like that, with this intention.
“When you play football and you concentrate to play and start the game, sometimes that can happen. People try to find things to mess up and take advantage of.
Gallagher captained Chelsea in the 2-2 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
Mauricio Pochettino also jumped to Gallagher’s defense on Wednesday
“Conor is a great, great kid and always cares about everything. I hate that people feel free to be abusive on social media.
‘It’s so easy to abuse the people. So easy. Who thinks Conor’s intention is to ignore a mascot? No one. Come on.’
Chelsea’s disappointing season continued in the 2-2 draw against relegation candidate Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The result left them a lowly twelfth in the Premier League ahead of the visit of United on Thursday evening.
The Clarets responded twice to Cole Palmer’s goals despite being reduced to 10 men after 40 minutes.