Chelsea have vowed to fight a racism charge against groundsman Steve Bethell after he became embroiled in a punch-up with Manchester United players.
Bethell has found himself in the dock following a post-match confrontation with Patrice Evra after the stormy meeting between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge last April.
Not only is Bethell facing a charge of improper conduct over
his behaviour, following a three-month investigation, the FA feel sufficiently confident to bring a far more damaging claim of 'abusive language aggravated by reference to nationality/race'.
Chelsea are aware of the serious nature of the offence but are vowing to stand by Bethell.
"Chelsea FC believes there is no foundation whatsoever to claims that the incident which occurred after the Manchester United match on April 26 involved comments based on nationality or race, which has led to an FA charge against one of our employees," said a club statement.
"Chelsea FC condemns all forms of discrimination in football and society.
"Such allegations against our club are extremely serious and Chelsea will not be making any further comment until we have assessed all the implications of the charge."
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