Chelsea have promised to take action against unofficial retailers who have been selling a range of offensive T-shirts outside Stamford Bridge on match days. The tops feature slurs against rival teams Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
The T-shirts were on sale "from a large stall situated on private property" adjacent to Fulham Road before and after Sunday's Premier League match against Manchester United, reports The Times with an image of the designs, which it describes as "vile".
Local trading standards officers tour the area on match days as do officials from Chelsea, who look for breaches of copyright on unofficial merchandising and have instructions to remove items that could be deemed offensive or provocative.
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One of the T-shirts on sale on Sunday depicted Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane wearing the garb of a Hasidic Jew with the slogan: "He's one of your own." Tottenham fans, who traditionally have a strong Jewish element, sing a song about Kane called "He's one of our own".
The other design features Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wearing hotpants above the words: "With a pack of sweets and a cheeky smile." As The Times comments, this "is the beginning of a cruel song that is sung by many fans in which he is called a paedophile".
Arsenal and Spurs have been alerted to the T-shirts and The Times quotes Katrina Law of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust saying: "It's hugely disappointing that in 2016, anyone could think this was acceptable. There's often an edge to football humour but there is also a line which we're sure the vast majority of Chelsea fans would recognise. We trust appropriate actions will be taken by Hammersmith and Fulham Council Trading Standards and by Chelsea."
Chelsea, whose Russian owner Roman Abramovich is Jewish, have taken a hard line in the past against any form of anti-Semitism. As the Daily Telegraph reported, the club warned fans before last season's League Cup final against Spurs at Wembley with a message on its website saying: "We would like to remind supporters of their responsibilities on the day.
"For a small minority, this game has historically brought a deeply unpleasant and unwanted level of anti-Semitic abuse, which has no place in football or anywhere in society... If we receive evidence that supporters have engaged in anti-Semitic or any other form of discriminatory chanting or behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action, including supporting criminal prosecution."
