Chelsea football club has condemned the racist abuse that Lauren James, a player for the club since 2021, has been receiving on social media. Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, criticised the “unacceptable” and “disgusting” behaviour, citing that James was “not in a good place” after being subjected to it. She also highlighted that the language used to “vilify” James was wholly inappropriate, and suggested that James might be experiencing additional abuse due to her race.
Emma Hayes also mentioned that the level of abuse directed at James was not comparable to other players in the league who have had challenging moments. The Switzerland midfielder Walti, an international player for Chelsea, has also condemned the online abuse directed at James, calling it “disgusting”, whilst adding that no one benefits from putting others down.
This is not the first time Lauren James has been targeted by online abuse, as she received similar treatment when playing for Manchester United. The incident has even prompted England to speak out against the abuse James has received. Emma Hayes also acknowledged the negative psychological impact all this has had on James, referring to the language used as “nasty” and “labelling”.
Finally, Hayes announced James was working with the club to help her handle her emotions, given that the abuse has increased in intensity, and other teams are actively attempting to get James to receive red cards. Hayes said that managing emotions comes with maturity and is not yet there with James, but she is working on it. Chelsea has a match against BK Hacken in the Champions League at 20:00 GMT on Thursday
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