Football fans are uniting to call on Chelsea to ban a group of supporters who sang abusive chants about Arsenal and England star Declan Rice and his girlfriend.
Rice was attacked by Chelsea fans during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over the Blues on Monday, after her long-term partner Lauren Fryer deleted all her Instagram photos after receiving a barrage of abuse on line for its appearance.
Lauren, 25, childhood girlfriend of Arsenal’s Rice, also 25, deleted all posts from her Instagram page in recent days after being targeted by cruel online trolls.
However, the trolling reached the real world on Tuesday, with images shared on X. (formerly Twitter) showing Rice being the target of vile chants from Chelsea fans.
Footage from the away match at the Emirates on Tuesday showed a group of supporters singing a chant referencing Rice’s “bird”.
Declan Rice’s girlfriend Lauren Fryer (left) deleted all her posts on her Instagram account after receiving a barrage of online abuse.
There were chants directed at Rice when he was going to take a corner against the rival.
Fans of different clubs have spoken out against the vile abuse and are calling for bans.
Rice appeared to be preparing to take a corner against the visiting team of the club he played for as a youth player between 2006 and 2013.
The England star ignored the chants, which repeated the insult three times.
Fryer has been mocked for his appearance, and the harassment began in December last year when an anonymous account told midfielder Rice that he “could do better.”
But after Monday’s video emerged, fans from several different clubs banded together to condemn the abuse and call for bans for the fans involved.
A fan of West Ham, Rice’s former club, wrote: “I think this is one of the most depressing things I have seen sung in recent years.” Another added: “Absolutely disgusting, getting them kicked out of the stadium.”
Chelsea fan Dave Spencer posted: “Shame on you for letting the fans down, as a Chelsea fan I find this disgusting.”
Rice was recently told she was held to ‘low standards’ for being in a relationship with Fryer, who is the mother of her 20-month-old son, Jude.
Rice fans have since vigorously defended Fryer over the comments. On
Another posted: ‘A beautiful woman, a couple in love, with a young family. Some in this world need to heal,” while a third shared: “Thank you post to this beautiful woman Lauren Fryer. “We regret that in 2024 women will continue to be the subject of so many disgusting comments.”
love island star Meanwhile, Liberty Poole, who appeared in series seven in 2022 and Love Island All Stars earlier this year, wrote on her Instagram Stories: “I think she’s beautiful, this is crazy.”
‘What happened to celebrating different body types and accepting how we are all individually made?
‘Beauty standards today are not realistic and everyone has gone crazy because of social media.
‘I’m going to keep preaching about this until I die. It’s time to change, this can’t continue.”
Fryer and Rice live together in London and met at school when they were 17 years old.
Lauren deleted all posts from her Instagram page in recent days after being abused.
Love Island star Liberty Poole (pictured) felt forced to speak out after Lauren was mocked for her appearance.
Fryer has also been vigorously defended by Rice fans over social media comments.
Rice’s fans also came to his long-time girlfriend’s defense after she deleted her Instagram posts.
The couple have been together since 2016, met at school and have a son together, 20-month-old Jude.
They live together in London and met when they were 17 years old.
Fryer now has almost 80,000 followers on his public Instagram account, although he no longer has photos on the account.
She can regularly be seen in the stands supporting Rice when he plays for both Arsenal and England.
Meanwhile, it has been suggested that a fake press conference could have sparked the wave of vile abuse that led Fryer to delete her photos.
The post, which is completely made up and purports to convey Rice’s response to derogatory questions about his girlfriend during a fictional press conference, was shared on Saturday, just three days before his content was removed from Instagram.
In it, Rice is asked why he chose not to date stereotypical ‘glamorous models and pop stars’ in favor of his childhood sweetheart.
Meanwhile, in December, fans rushed to Lauren’s defense after a vile troll posted about Declan’s “low standards.”
The account responsible for posting the tweet has since been suspended after hundreds of people criticized the troll.
Rice lives in London with Fryer, who now has almost 80,000 followers on her public Instagram account.
It has been suggested that a fake press conference could have sparked the wave of vile abuse that led Fryer to delete her photos.
Rice was attacked by Chelsea trolls as he and teammate Fryer faced an onslaught of abuse.
In August 2022, Rice appeared to confirm the birth of his first child with Lauren by revealing a tattoo dedicated to a newborn child during a match when he played for West Ham United.
The tattoo, which circled the England international’s lower left arm, revealed the name Jude, an apparent date of birth and a quote.
Fryer can regularly be seen cheering Rice on from the stands during his matches with Arsenal and England.
In August 2022, Rice appeared to confirm the birth of his first child with Lauren by revealing a tattoo dedicated to a newborn child during a match when he played for West Ham United.
At the time he sparked speculation that he had welcomed Jude earlier that month by exposing a tattoo of the child’s name and apparent date of birth: August 7.
Jude’s star sign, Leo, characterized as a symbol of self-confidence and attractiveness, also appeared in the delicate ink on the lower left arm of then-West Ham captain Rice.