Eden Hazard slams Chelsea fans who ‘abused’ Raheem Sterling: 'They are not proper supporters'

Eden Hazard has backed Raheem Sterling for speaking out over the alleged racial abuse he suffered at Stamford Bridge and claimed Chelsea supporters who shouted obscenities at the Manchester City star are “not proper fans”.

The club have suspended four people from attending matches, pending an investigation into an incident during Saturday’s 2-0 win over City, in which it appeared Sterling was targeted by home supporters.

The 24-year-old has since taken to social media to highlight the inequality in coverage of black and white players, accusing newspapers of “fuelling racism and aggressive behaviour”.

Chelsea playmaker Hazard, who played against Sterling last weekend, said: “The only thing I can say is, I support the player. Sterling is a fantastic player.

“There is an investigation, so we don’t know what will happen. They are called fans but, for me, they are not fans. Proper Chelsea fans just sing for Chelsea and enjoy the game.

“I am fully supportive of Raheem and this kind of racism cannot be in the stadium anymore.”

Asked about Sterling’s bravery in commenting on the situation and the wider issues around racism in sport and society, Hazard added: “If he has something to say, he will say it. As a player, if I’m in the situation, I would say something. It does happen in football sometimes, not just in England but everywhere and it needs to stop. That’s it.”

Video clips of the incident quickly went viral on social media and one fan, who was accused of calling Sterling a “f****** black ****” as the ball went out of play during the first half, has denied accusations of racial abuse.

Colin Wing, 60, was caught on camera appearing to use that phrase, but he told the Daily Mail: “I’m deeply ashamed by my own behaviour and I feel really bad. But I didn’t call him a black ****, I called him a Manc ****.

“I’ve been going to Chelsea for 50 years now and, because of where I sit, I’m picked up on the camera most weeks.

“If I had a history of saying this sort of thing, I would’ve been caught by now. Nobody around me said they heard anything.

“I want to apologise unreservedly to Raheem and hope he can be a better man than I am by accepting it.

“I offer him an unreserved apology. Even if it wasn’t racist, it’s not right what I said. Even the swearing is bad, but I got carried away.

“I was completely out of order, but I’ve lost my job and my season ticket now, so everybody’s got what they wanted. So why can’t they leave me alone?”