- Title: Four Chelsea fans given suspended sentences for racist violence in Paris
- Date: 3rd January 2017
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FRENCH VICTIM WHO WAS BLOCKED BY CHELSEA FANS FROM BOARDING METRO TRAIN, SOULEYMANE SYLLA, WALKING OUTSIDE COURTROOM / SYLLA TALKING TO HIS LAWYER, JIM MICHEL-GABRIEL SYLLA AND MICHEL-GABRIEL WALKING OUTSIDE COURT SIGN FOR COURT CHAMBER SYLLA ENTERING COURTROOM SIGN SHOWING SYMBOL FOR JUDGE FRENCH POLICE OFFICERS OUTSIDE COURTROOM MICHEL-GABRIEL AND SYLLA LEAVING COURTROOM AFTER DELIVERY OF VERDICT AND SPEAKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR VICTIM OF RACIST INCIDENT SOULEYMANE SYLLA, JIM MICHEL-GABRIEL, SAYING: "We are very happy. Justice has been served, and it's good that we are finally recognising in this country today that racist chants can be punished, quite simply." (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH VICTIM WHO WAS BLOCKED BY CHELSEA FANS FROM BOARDING METRO TRAIN, SOULEYMANE SYLLA, SAYING: (JOURNALIST SAYING: "He (Chelsea supporter Josh Parsons) said he was sorry.") "Yes, he told me he was sorry, but there you go. It's like that." (JOURNALIST SAYING: "He maintains that it wasn't a racist act.") "According to him, that's what he says. But everyone knows what happened, I don't need to repeat it." (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH VICTIM WHO WAS BLOCKED BY CHELSEA FANS FROM BOARDING METRO TRAIN, SOULEYMANE SYLLA, SAYING: "It's a feeling of justice. Justice has been served. I thank my lawyer, and all the associations." JOURNALISTS GATHERED OUTSIDE COURTROOM CHELSEA SUPPORTER, JAMES FAIRBAIRN, WHO WAS FOUND GUILTY OF COMMITTING RACIST VIOLENCE, LEAVING COURTROOM (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNIDENTIFIED LAWYER FOR CHELSEA SUPPORTER JAMES FAIRBAIRN, SAYING: "My client was found guilty because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The court did not take into account individual responsibility, which for me is a misunderstanding and I think this decision is a warning for Chelsea supporters. Thank you."
- Embargoed: 18th January 2017 18:23
- Keywords: Chelsea racism Paris violence football fans Paris St Germain Souleymane Sylla Josh Parsons James Fairbairn Richard Barklie William Simpson
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA0015XJ26H3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Four Chelsea football fans were given suspended jail sentences and fined by a Paris court on Tuesday (January 3) for committing racist violence when they stopped a black Frenchman boarding a metro underground train in the French capital in February 2015.
Video footage had shown the four, who were there to watch the London club play Paris St Germain in a Champions League match, chanting: "We're racist and that's the way we like it" as they blocked Souleymane Sylla from getting on the train.
After the verdict, Sylla told reporters that "justice has been served".
"It's good that we are finally recognising in this country today that racist chants can be punished, quite simply," said Sylla's lawyer, Jim Michel-Gabriel.
Richard Barklie and William Simpson, who were not in court, were given 12-month suspended sentences on charges of committing racist violence and making chants of a racist nature.
Josh Parsons and James Fairbairn, both of whom appeared in court on Tuesday, were handed suspended sentences of eight months and six months respectively on similar charges.
A lawyer for Fairbain said the court's ruling was a warning for Chelsea supporters.
"My client was found guilty because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said.
The four Chelsea supporters were also ordered to pay 10,000 euros (8,500 pounds) to Sylla. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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