The Metropolitan police have confirmed that a 17-year-old was arrested on the back of an alleged racially aggravated public order offense ahead of the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal between Chelsea and Tottenham.
The Guardian reports that the teenager was arrested 20 minutes before the game kicked off at Wembley and that he was being held in a police station in North London. The police have not confirmed if the alleged offender is a fan of either Chelsea or Spurs.
The Metropolitan police have released a statement that reads, “A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence at the Tottenham vs Chelsea match at Wembley Stadium, at around 1940hrs on Tuesday, 8 January.”
This comes at a time when police, as well as stewards inside the ground, were on high alert for any racially aggravating or antisemitic statements from either set of fans. In fact, Chelsea issued an official statement before the game warning their fans that any racially motivated chants or insults will not be tolerated and that the fans who engage in such behavior would be kicked out of the ground.
This incident, of course, follows a number of controversial ones particularly involving Chelsea fans. One fan was recently banned from Stamford Bridge after an incident where he was alleged to have hurled racist insults at Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling while UEFA are currently investigating alleged another incident which allegedly involved Chelsea fans chanting anti-semitic slogans during their Europa League tie against Vidi FC in Budapest.
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