Chelsea’s first black player Paul Canoville has apologized to Conor Gallagher for helping to spark a controversy on social media after the England star appeared to ignore a black mascot.
Gallagher’s Instagram account was flooded with comments calling him a racist after a short clip showing the Chelsea captain accidentally whitewashing the youngster in the Stamford Bridge tunnel went viral.
Chelsea condemned Gallagher’s “completely unacceptable” abuse in a statement on Wednesday, saying the clip had “been taken considerably out of context”.
Canoville played for Chelsea between 1981 and 1986, defying racist abuse from elements of the team’s own support. He has worked as an ambassador for the Chelsea FC Foundation.
Canoville, 62, shared the video of Gallagher in a now-deleted post on
Chelsea and England star Conor Gallagher was accused of being “racist” after accidentally ignoring a handshake from a black mascot before Saturday’s match against Burnley.
Paul Canoville, who was Chelsea’s first black player in the 1980s, apologized for circulating the Gallagher mascot video, which helped spark an uproar on social media.
Canoville admitted he was “too quick to post” his now-deleted social media message
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He apologized on Wednesday, writing: “I’m sorry for Conor and all the blue boys (sic) n girls.” I was too quick to post this issue. As you know, I am very passionate about equality for all. Lots of love.’
As Gallagher prepared to lead the team for Saturday’s Premier League match against Burnley, the young mascot raised his hand expecting a handshake.
But Gallagher seemed to ignore him and instead put his arm around another white mascot standing next to him in the tunnel.
Although a later image showed Gallagher hugging both pets just seconds after the original clip, his social media has been inundated with accusations that he is “racist.”
On a recent Instagram post showing Gallagher playing for England last week, comments included “king of racism,” “no to racism” and “black lives matter.”
On Wednesday, the London club published a angry statement Responding to Gallagher’s abuse, he wrote: ‘Chelsea Football Club is aware of a video clip circulating on social media from Saturday’s match against Burnley, which has been taken considerably out of context.
‘The subsequent level of abuse and defamatory comments directed towards Conor Gallagher is completely unacceptable.
“We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome.”
Chelsea condemned ‘completely unacceptable’ abuse towards Gallagher in a strong statement
Gallagher captained Chelsea during Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino also came to Gallagher’s defense when speaking on Wednesday
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino also defended Gallagher before Thursday’s game against Manchester United: “That bothered me a lot. Because nobody wants to do something like that, with this intention.
“When you play football and you are there and you concentrate to play and start the game, that can sometimes happen. People try to find things to create a mess and abuse.
‘Conor is a fantastic child and always worries about everything. He hates that people feel free to abuse on social media.
‘Abusing people is very easy. So easy. Who thinks Conor’s intention is to ignore a pet? Nobody. Come on.’
Canoville, who played 103 times for Chelsea and helped them win promotion to the First Division in 1984, faced his own backlash when he shared the video.
One X user wrote: ‘Isn’t Canners supposed to be an ambassador for the club? Why wouldn’t you address this internally if you had concerns? Instead of posting a video to stir up hate against Conor, who clearly had no intention of not high-fiving the kid.
Canoville suffered horrendous racist abuse, including from Chelsea fans, during his time playing for the club in the 1980s.
The winger played 103 times for Chelsea between 1981 and 1986, helping them win promotion to the First Division in 1984.
Another said: ‘Are you trying to imply something with your message here, Paul? Because I’ve seen more clips that show Conor putting his arm around the boy. Surely you didn’t just knock Conor off the air for not shaking his hand?
Another response to Canoville’s original post read: ‘It’s okay!!!! Sterling did the same thing by the way! What a bad take and in turn leads to abuse towards a player who continues to be attacked! How disappointing this is!’