Chelsea will hand out bans to anyone found to have directed “disgusting” racial abuse towards striker Nicolas Jackson in the aftermath of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City.
Jackson received the abuse on Instagram following the Blues’ 1-0 defeat at Wembley Stadium, as Bernardo Silva’s goal ended their hopes of capturing silverware this campaign.
The abusive messages were sent in response to a post Jackson made after last week’s 6-0 win over Everton, in which he scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season.
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In a statement issued on Monday, Chelsea said: “Chelsea Football Club is disgusted by the racial abuse directed towards Nicolas Jackson via social media, following Saturday evening’s game.
“There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we operate a zero-tolerance approach to any incident of this nature.
“The club will support any criminal prosecutions and take the strongest possible action, including bans, against any individual who is found to be a season ticket holder or member.”
Defeat in the semi-final. ⏹️#CFC | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/AchrsQgl4P
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 20, 2024
The abuse faced by Jackson was also discussed at Pochettino’s press conference on Monday as he previewed Tuesday’s London derby against Arsenal.
The Argentine lamented the way in which social media platforms allow individuals to abuse public figures anonymously.
He said: “I think all public people suffer, more in football because people hide behind social media. That is why it’s not a reference. We always talk about that.
“Of course, we need to be there because it’s a good way to communicate with the good fans, the good people who want to know about us, but other people hide behind social media.
“The most important thing is to be strong and to know that cannot be a reference of what people think about you or different things in life.”
