Vlogger, 14, traumatised by 'aggressive' Chelsea steward incident

A 14-year-old boy has claimed he was “manhandled” and “dragged” away by a football steward as he filmed outside Chelsea’s ground.

Max Hayes, 14, a YouTube vlogger, said the alleged incident – which took place at the FA Cup third-round match between the Premier League side Chelsea and the Championship’s Nottingham Forest – left him traumatised.

Hayes, from Staffordshire, was at the match with his 18-year-old brother Alex and a friend. They started filming outside the ground for Hayes’s YouTube channel which has 3,916 subscribers.

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The teenager said he started to film quietly but was interrupted by an “aggressive” supervisor steward who told him filming wasn’t allowed there. The group then moved to a quieter area to continue but claimed the same steward “manhandled” them.

Hayes said he was dragged “by the scruff of my neck” by the “very aggressive” steward and taken to a security room inside the stadium. He said he had his bag confiscated, with police saying there was “no point” in reporting the incident.

A spokesman for Chelsea said: “We are aware of the complaint and are looking into it.”

Hayes has asked for an apology from Chelsea. He said on Twitter: “As a family we have been to multiple away grounds and have never had a problem with filming and doing what I love, and we’re therefore in complete shock at the brutal and unprofessional staff at Stamford Bridge … The whole incident ruined the day out for us, and I am still traumatised after the event.”

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said: “We would like Max to know that Chelsea supporters are very disappointed to read his account of what happened and would like to offer heartfelt apologies to him on behalf of all of the decent and fair-minded followers of our club.”