Everton criticise the "unacceptable" behaviour from some of their fans at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening; club say homophobic chants were directed at a Chelsea player during 1-1 Premier League draw
Friday 17 December 2021 07:22, UK
Everton have condemned homophobic chants from the club's supporters during their Premier League game at Chelsea.
The Toffees criticised the "unacceptable" behaviour from some of their fans at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.
A club statement on Twitter read: "Everton condemns the homophobic chanting directed at a Chelsea player this evening at Stamford Bridge. Such behaviour is unacceptable and does not represent the values of our club or our wider fanbase.
"Through our 'All Together Now' campaign we promote and celebrate the diversity and inclusivity within our club, our game and our community.
"We expect fans to reflect those values by refraining from any discriminatory chanting in the future."
Everton LGBTQ+ group Rainbow Toffees said on Twitter: "We've been informed of the 'Chelsea Rent Boy' chants. This is something we totally condemn. It's wrong, it's homophobic & needs to stop. We have brought this up with the club in the past & will be bringing it up again."
Jordan Pickford starred as a much-depleted Everton scrapped their way to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, who lost more ground in the title race.
The England goalkeeper was called upon to make nine saves in a match where Chelsea had 23 shots on goal but only had a Mason Mount strike on 70 minutes to show for their dominance. That lead only lasted four minutes as Jarrad Branthwaite knocked home a sublime Anthony Gordon set-piece to equalise.
The draw leaves Chelsea four points behind Manchester City in third place in the Premier League table.
