Not a good look to ban non-offensive banners at Strasbourg

All sounding very authoritarian, no? Censorship at football? These are questions by the way, not statements being made by me.

I’m in the belief that freedom of speech is very important in this world in general. We all have different views on things, and we should be able to express them. I don’t personally think BlueCo/Strasbourg should be stopping their fans expressing opinions at their games in the form of banners, as long as they are not offensive in any way.

Foot Mercato report that Anti-Chelsea messages are not welcome in Strasbourg. A banner from the Ultra Boys 90, which said, “Chelsea doesn’t decide what happens at Racing,” was refused entry to the Meinau stadium on Sunday evening for Strasbourg’s home game against Lyon. Fans were apparently told by security that the word ‘Chelsea’ is not allowed.

Personally, this doesn’t really sit well with me. But perhaps that is because of something I heard last week.

I am not able to say what’s happened because the person in question, a Chelsea fan and a good friend of mine, does not want me to speak on it or draw attention to it right now because the situation is ongoing. But I believe it will come out soon anyway. And then I will very much be speaking on it. It’s basically a similar type of situation to the above, but also quite different as it’s not to do with banners or fans being allowed or not allowed to do things at games. That’s honestly all I can say on it right now because I gave my word to this friend of mine that I will not speak on it until they say I can. But again, it’s a situation that hasn’t sat well with me at all. But it’s not for me to put out there.

I have no connection or affiliation with Strasbourg. I like to keep an eye on them and watch their players, sure. But that’s because many of them are likely to end up at Chelsea one day! I’m not a Strasbourg supporter, I’m a Chelsea supporter. But I do believe that fans should have the right to always put their views out and I’m certainly not in favour of stopping non-offensive banners at games. It’s not a road we should be pushing down.