Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho spoke about the recent incident in Paris where some of the Chelsea fans racially abused a French national on the metro platform.
Mourinho gave an update on John Terry’s contract situation prior to his reaction on the Paris incident and said that the 33-year old’s performances have been such that he is close to earning an extension, a I think everybody wants to stay and especially him.
“I think he accepted our policy of after a certain age you go year-after-year and John accepted that with a smile and as a challenge.
“Last season he won the challenge by performing so well and he got the extension.
“Again this year hea s winning the challenge for another extension,” he told the club’s official website.
They are not Chelsea, Mourinho comments on racist fans
Mourinho addressed the racist incident and said that the people who were at the station do not represent Chelsea, a This is not Chelsea. They are not Chelsea.
“Chelsea is the owner, the manager, the players, the people that work here and the true Chelsea supporters.
“We feel ashamed but maybe we shouldna t because I refuse to be connected with these people. I am connected with Chelsea and the many good things Chelsea defend and represent. I left Chelsea in 2007 and I couldna t wait for the moment to be back, and ita s not because of people like this that I wanted to be back.
“I felt ashamed when I knew what happened but I repeat: I am a proud Chelsea Football Club manager because I know what the club is and these people dona t represent it.
“The dressing room reacted the same way I reacted: with disappointment, condemning the situation and supporting the gentleman involved, but always with the feeling that we feel ashamed but maybe we shouldna t because we dona t belong to these people, and these people dona t belong to us.
“All these years, even without me, I am sure this dressing room was always a dressing room with big principles of equality. We had everything, absolutely everything – not just [different] races but also [different] religions.
“Chelsea since minute one after the incident are doing absolutely everything because [we have] zero tolerance. Apart from that we have to keep feeling that our club is a great club and our club has no space for these kinds of people.
“We feel very sorry about it, we want to fight it and we apologise to the gentleman.”
The blues face Burnley at home on Saturday and will want to keep their seven-oint lead intact.