Chelsea fans cheered against Brentford before boos thanks to heartwarming half-time moment
There were cheers at Stamford Bridge — and not just from the away end on Saturday.
While boos greeted the full-time whistle following Brentford's 2-0 win, the Chelsea faithful at least got right behind the performance at the interval.
Deaf performance group Unify, as well as signing choir Hands 4 Voices walked onto the pitch to deliver a heartwarming rendition of 'Blue is the Colour' along with partially deaf singer James Vickery.
When introduced to the fans, all those involved got a big cheer and, when they were finished with the iconic club anthem, another round of applause was heard.
At this point things were level on the pitch before Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo earned Brentford all three points.
But at the break, the partnership between Cadbury Fingers, the National Deaf Children’s Society and Chelsea was on full display.
The trio are together trying to foster better inclusivity within football and supporting the 46 per cent of deaf people who feel the majority of sporting culture and match day experiences are only suitable for hearing people and not inclusive for all.
The Premier League side has begun training staff members in British Sign Language (BSL) and ahead of the game, players from the men's and women's team were taught some words.
Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja, Lauren James and Hannah Hampton learned how to say ‘What’s the score?, ‘What a goal’ and ‘Nice to meet you’.
Chelsea has also introduced quarterly club tours with a BSL interpreter to address the feedback of 30 per cent of deaf Brits who would like to see a better offer of these type of fan experiences incorporating BSL.
To find out more about how to include more deaf people by learning some British Sign Language, visit signwithfingers.cadbury.co.uk to
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