Chelsea reveal ‘disgust’ with strong statement after Nicolas Jackson suffers racist abuse

Chelsea have hit back at racist abuse sent to striker Nicolas Jackson after the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. The 22-year-old missed three gilt-edged chances for the Blues as Mauricio Pochettino's men failed to score at Wembley once again.

Leading the line, Jackson failed to get a shot on goal when through one-on-one with Stefan Ortega before the 'keeper denied him twice in a matter of seconds after the break. He was widely criticised for his profligacy in the aftermath by pundits and fans but online messages to the forward went a step further.

"Chelsea Football Club is disgusted by the racial abuse directed towards Nicolas Jackson via social media, following Saturday evening's game," the club wrote on Monday. "There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we operate a zero-tolerance approach to any incident of this nature."

Pochettino addressed the abuse in his press conference ahead of a trip to Arsenal on Tuesday. "We all suffer, more public people suffer," he said. "More in football because people hide behind social media and that is why it is not a reference. We always talk about that, that it is not a reference.

"Of course, we need to be there in social media because it is a good way to communicate with the fans, the good fans, the good people that want to know about us. But other people who hide behind social media. The most important thing is to be strong and to know that it is not a reference for what people think of you."

He explained the form in front of goal for his attacker too. "We were talking yesterday – he was tired, more than he normally is because the team wanted to win and all of the players wanted to go to the final. But he is young, he needs to live this type of situation to improve. The whole team today is much better."

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Jackson has scored 10 times in the league after joining from Villarreal last summer. Last week he took his tally into double figures with possibly his best of the lot, controlling a high ball and turning to shoot in the same movement at home to Everton.

He was involved with Noni Madueke in a spat between teammates in the same game as both players looked to try and take a penalty away from Cole Palmer at Stamford Bridge. Jackson, often extremely active on social media - mainly Instagram - is yet to publicly respond to the abuse or the game.

Pochettino defended his striker, adding, "The first season is always difficult for all of the players, more when you are in a position like a striker and you need to perform and score goals. Everyone expects every single touch to score a goal.

"He is our main striker; the only striker we have fit because [Christopher] Nkunku nearly did not play in the whole season. Broja, also, and the he moved to Fulham, wanting to play more. Yes, he is doing fantastic. He is doing an amazing job for the team – running, scoring goals and giving assists.

"In his first season, a young guy coming from Spain, even with not much experience there, I think he is doing fantastic. The players here to match the icon players here like Drogba, if we compare with Drogba, yes he is always going to lose, but if we split the history of the club from the team and the performance of Jackson, I think he is doing fantastic. He is going to have all of my support.

"Even if he doesn't score, the way he is fighting for the club, fighting for his teammates, for the team and producing sometimes chances. He needs time to improve. He is going to be better next season, for sure. There is no doubt about that. He only needs to keep going."