Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck meets fans amid accusations of racism

Chelsea's chairman Bruce Buck spoke to fans as they entered the away end ahead of the team's 2-1 away win over Brighton, as the club seek to put a halt to leaving themselves open to more accusations of alleged racism. 

Steve Atkins, Chelsea's director of communications and public affairs, was with Buck as the duo were keen to see their club avoid making the headlines for matters off the pitch for the third match in a row.

Raheem Sterling was allegedly racially abused on the pitch during Chelsea's 2-0 win over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, with four supporters being suspended pending a further investigation involving both the club and the Metropolitan Police.

A section of Chelsea's travelling support in Hungary was then heard making anti-Semitic chants in relation to their rivals Tottenham, as the Blues drew 2-2 against MOL Vidi in the Europa League.

UEFA has set a precedent to punish clubs found guilty of discriminatory chants by a partial stadium closure for upcoming games in the competition, with a verdict likely to be reached early this week. 

Chelsea fans have also been pictured in Budapest, where the club's midweek game took place, with a flag featuring a Nazi symbol although authorities believe that imagery didn't make it inside the Groupama Arena

The club's owner Roman Abramovich is a Russian Jew and has led efforts from Chelsea beginning in January to educate fans on antisemitism. The campaign has worked alongside Kick It Out, the UK based anti-discrimination charity, to provide resources for English clubs to identify racist language used by fans.

The campaign also organised a trip for 150 people who were a mixture of club staff, stewards and fans to learn about the Holocaust with trips to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps.

Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas and Maurizio Sarri have all reiterated the club's stance that racism should not be tolerated. It has been a week where off-pitch matters have overshadowed the success on the pitch. 

Chelsea made a midweek statement where they questioned the “brainpower” of the offenders and they told them that they had “shamed the club.”