Soccer Fans Face Prison Over Racist Subway Antics

A group of British soccer fans happily chanting "we're racist" on the Paris subway and preventing a black man from boarding their train might be in for a world of trouble now that video of their antics has gone viral. The Guardian, which first obtained the footage, reports that authorities in Paris and London are trying to identify the Chelsea fans. They could face three years in prison and fines of about $50,000. The half-dozen or so white men are seen repeatedly preventing a black man from boarding the subway.

At another point, they chant, "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it." It all happened before Chelsea played a Champions League match against a Paris team in the French capital. Representatives from the London team as well as soccer's governing body have condemned the behavior, reports Reuters. British police are combing through their database of Chelsea "troublemakers" to try to identify the men. “We will examine the footage with a view to seeing if we can apply for football banning orders, preventing people from traveling from future matches," says the Metropolitan Police in London. (More Chelsea stories.)