John Terry backs far right as Carvajal and Buffon precede him, could France see similar support? | OneFootball

John Terry, the Chelsea great, has aligned himself with far-right positions on social media. According to L'Équipe, his interactions have backed policies promoted by Rupert Lowe’s nationalist party Restore Britain.

On 27 April he replied “100% yes” beneath Lowe’s Instagram call to bar foreign nationals from benefits, deport migrants unable to support themselves, and use the savings to cut taxes for Britons.

In March he added three clapping emojis and an England flag beneath a Lowe message featuring a woman in a burqa and Bengali signage that pledged to ban the burqa and keep station names in English.

Chelsea have long carried a reputation on the right, and a section of fans have been involved in incidents, including racist abuse of Raheem Sterling in 2018 and suspended sentences over a 2015 Paris Metro episode. Terry was tried over alleged racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand and was acquitted.

Former Chelsea goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon said Terry showed empathy towards team-mates and staff of all backgrounds, and added that current anger with government is giving space to demagogic rhetoric.

On 7 May, Restore Britain saw nine candidates win council seats, while Reform UK rose from 2 to 1,453 councillors compared with 2022.

The trend is mirrored elsewhere, with Dani Carvajal linked to Vox in Spain and Gianluigi Buffon backing Giorgia Meloni in Italy. In France, sociologist Béatrice Barbusse cited ex-rugby player David Gérard’s RN run and Lucas Chevalier’s pro-RN like, adding that the approaching presidential race could prompt others to speak openly.

Source: L'Équipe