Hull City announce arrests over 'unacceptable' homophobic chanting during FA Cup loss to Chelsea | OneFootball

The official LGBTQ+ community group ‘Chelsea Pride’ have also published a statement

Hull City took swift action during their FA Cup fourth round tie against Chelsea on Friday

Getty Images

Hull City announced arrests had been made mid-game at their FA Cup match against Chelsea following homophobic chanting.

Around the 25th minute of the match, sections of the Hull support could be heard chanting “Chelsea rent boys”.

There was an announcement in the 44th minute on the loudspeaker which confirmed that discriminatory chanting had been heard and that fans were to acknowledge that CCTV was in use at the MKM Stadium and would be monitored.

Standard Sport understands the FA are awaiting the referee’s report before determining next steps and any possible charges against Hull City.

The match ended 4-0 to Chelsea courtesy of a hat-trick by Pedro Neto and a further goal from Estevao.

In January 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it considered the term “rent boy” a homophobic slur and that it was therefore a hate crime. Anyone using the term can therefore be prosecuted under hate crime laws. The term is British slang for a male sex worker.

In his post-match press conference, Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said: “Without knowing what has happened, any discriminatory language is unacceptable.

“The fourth official mentioned something to me but I was so focused on the game I honestly don’t know what happened.”

Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic said of the discriminatory chanting: “I didn’t hear that. This is not the place for this, in the stadium and also public as well. This is not good, for sure.”

Asked what his message was to fans, he said: “The stadium is not the place for that and this is the reason why there are arrests.”

After the match, the official LGBTQ+ community group ‘Chelsea Pride’ published a statement condemning the use of the “Chelsea rent boy” chant.

It said the phrase had “once again been used” and that: “This is utterly unacceptable. We acknowledge that Hull City AFC made stadium announcement, confirmed CCTV was being monitored, and that arrests have been made.

“Action matters. Accountability matters. Consequences matter.”