Several
top Chelsea players have welcomed owner Roman Abramovich personally funding
the club's latest venture in the fight against racism, the 'No To Hate'
campaign.
Owner Abramovich has provided new funds for Chelsea to bolster their support
for their players around social media and combating abuse on the platforms
and it is understood the squad have warmly welcomed the move.
The Blues will publish a new social media policy, to include guidance for
fans on how to identify and report online abuse.
Chelsea's England defender Reece James suffered racial abuse on Instagram in
January, sparking the club's renewed initiatives.
The club will now seek to report and even remove abusive comments from
online platforms.
Chelsea continue to lead the way in the Premier League when it comes to
high-profile campaigns against racism, with their players understood to be
heartened by the club's latest steps.
"In January 2021, our player Reece James suffered disgusting and
unacceptable racist abuse on social media," read a Chelsea statement. "This
was not an isolated incident. Several of our players have been, and continue
to be, the
targets of hate and discrimination online.
"We as a club will not tolerate this any longer. We agree wholeheartedly
with our players that something needs to change, in football and beyond.
"That is why, in the aftermath of the abuse suffered by Reece in January,
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich directed the board to further increase the
club's efforts to fight racism and committed to personally directing funds
towards this important work.
"Today we can announce that as a result of this directive from Mr
Abramovich, we are launching the first steps in our new 'No To Hate'
campaign."
Allied to increasing their help for players on social media, Chelsea also
pledged to boost support of victims of racist abuse at the club.
Vowing also to increase opportunities at the club for "black, Asian and
other underrepresented minority coaches", Chelsea will push their 'No To
Hate' initiative alongside the long-running 'Say No To Anti-Semitism'
campaign.
"The racist abuse of Reece on social media was a painful reminder that we
need to do more," said Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck.
"Mr Abramovich directed me and the board to identify further action we could
take to tackle racism in football and society, and today we launch 'No To
Hate', a campaign which we fervently hope will have a tangible positive
impact for our players, staff, fans and communities."
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