Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out has praised Chelsea boss Frank Lampard after he condemned his club’s supporters for referring to West Ham as ‘pikeys’.
A section of the Blues fans used the derogatory word in a chant during Sunday’s friendly with Reading, leading the new boss – once of West Ham – to ask them to stop.
“We are aware of the chant and contacted @ChelseaFC about the issue last week,” Kick It Out said on Twitter.
“We are pleased to see the club and Frank Lampard take such a clear stance in support of equality by condemning the song – ‘pikey’ is a discriminatory word and no football supporter should be using it.”
Lampard, who has a strong standing with Chelsea’s support after a glittering career at Stamford Bridge, had said on Sunday: “If there’s a song that has offensive words in it then of course I don’t want to hear that and that’s me saying that as a big Chelsea man who really appreciates the support I’ve had over the years.
“We don’t want songs with offensive words so if the fans can sing other songs while still backing the team, which is more important than myself, then I’ll certainly back that.
“We’re all aware the club are very strong with the work we do off the pitch in terms of anything that’s offensive or prejudice. We’ve made a big mark in recent years so we don’t want that.”
