Chelsea have denounced the mistreatment Conor Gallagher has received on social media after a video went viral showing the midfielder apparently ignoring a young mascot.
The incident happened before Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Burnley in the Premier League last weekend, during which Cole Palmer scored both of the home team’s goals at Stamford Bridge.
Gallagher, who has taken on the captain’s role in Reece James’s absence this season, was seen talking with two of Chelsea’s matchday mascots as the two teams lined up in the tunnel in west London.
However, when one of the mascots reached out his hand to Gallagher, the England international unintentionally left the youngster hanging, and the short clip quickly spread on social media.
Following this, Gallagher’s social media accounts were inundated with comments from online users, with some even accusing the 24-year-old of racism, while others rallied to defend Chelsea’s stand-in captain.
In a statement today, Chelsea expressed that the amount of mistreatment Gallagher had experienced in the following period was ‘completely unacceptable’, emphasizing that the club were ‘proud’ of their diversity and inclusivity.
‘Chelsea Football Club is aware of a video clip circulating on social media from Saturday’s fixture against Burnley, which has been taken considerably out of context,’ the statement read.
‘The subsequent level of abuse and defamatory comments directed towards Conor Gallagher is completely unacceptable.’
‘We are proud to be a diverse, inclusive club where people from all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome.’
Gallagher went on to play 62 minutes of Chelsea’s draw with Burnley, with Noni Madueke coming on in his place as the hosts searched for an equaliser against the ten-man visitors.
During his press conference today, an ‘upset’ Mauricio Pochettino defended Gallagher and stated that it would never have been the midfielder’s intention to ignore a young mascot.
‘That has upset me so much because no-one wants to do something like this, with this intention,’ Pochettino told reporters.
‘He was so well, there are so many videos and photography and pictures showing Conor being really well with both mascots. And then.. when you play football, and you are there, and you are focusing on too many things, you’re focusing to play and to start the game.
‘Look, that sometimes can happen. But I think people want to abuse people, people always try to find things to create a mess and to abuse the people that, if you know them, I know Conor, I know the people that are involved here in Chelsea.’
The Argentine added: ‘I can talk for the people that I know and, come on, there is never that intention. Conor is a great, great kid and always is caring about everything.
‘I dislike it when people feel they can freely mistreat others on social media and similar platforms. Don't you think we need to stop this kind of behavior?
‘It’s so easy to mistreat people these days and then to give so much attention to the controversy when this type of behavior never used to happen. We shouldn't give too much attention to people who want to create this kind of trouble and insult others. Please stop. I believe we are all responsible for addressing this issue.
‘How can anyone think that Conor intended to ignore a mascot? Seriously! It really upsets me. I know Conor and he doesn't deserve to be mistreated. No one deserves to be mistreated, but given what I know about him, come on, it's not right. I see too many things happening, not just in England, but in the rest of the world.’
According to Pochettino, the media industry needs to work together with football as a whole to ‘support’ individuals when they are subjected to such mistreatment.
‘I think our responsibility, and the [media’s] responsibility, is to collectively try to disregard all these types of things,’ the Chelsea head coach continued.
‘The people who try to create these things never help our life. For me, it’s about supporting Conor, to support all the people that sometimes get mistreated.’
Gallagher has been one of Chelsea’s few positives in an otherwise disappointing season, scoring two goals and providing five assists with the side currently in 12th place in the Premier League table.
The Chelsea academy graduate was selected for Gareth Southgate’s squad for England’s Euro 2024 warm-up matches last month and played 75 minutes of the Three Lions’ 1-0 loss to Brazil.
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