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QPR, Chelsea to fans: Behave at game time

Comment: 0 January 27th, 2012

LET the next Queens Park Rangers-Chelsea match be a celebration of football.

That is what both the QPR and Blues camps want their FA Cup clash to be on Saturday at Loftus Road.

In a show of solidarity, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and his QPR counterpart Tony Fernandes released a joint statement on Thursday for all fans to unite and celebrate football while watching the game.

Tension was in the air days before the match in the wake of the recent racial slur incident involving Hoops defender Anton Ferdinand and Blues captain John Terry.

The coming tiff will mark the first time both players will meet face-to-face since Chelsea’s 1-0 setback in October.

Terry has already denied the charge of racially abusing Ferdinand during the game. Nevertheless, he is scheduled to appear before west London magistrates on 1 February to air his side.

Buck and Fernandes both warned their teams’ backers that “abuse and discrimination have no place in football or society.”

In their website, QPR said the club “is committed to confronting and eliminating discrimination, whether by reason of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, ethnic and national origin, disability, nationality, religion or belief, or gender reassignment.”

The club added they are proud of the atmosphere they have at Loftus Road and that they can stop any discrimination or behaviour that has no place in football by working together.

In reminding visitors to their home turf, QPR said Loftus Road is governed by Ground Regulations and that they are expected to abide by the rules.

To stress the warning, the club said any actions that lead to prosecution or removal from the ground will result in a ban.

The fixture is set to kick off at midday on the advice of police authorities to prevent potential crowd problems.

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