Chelsea have hit back at racist abuse sent to striker Nicolas Jackson after the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. The 22-year-old missed three gilt-edged chances for the Blues as Mauricio Pochettino's men failed to score at Wembley once again.
Leading the line, Jackson failed to get a shot on goal when through one-on-one with Stefan Ortega before the 'keeper denied him twice in a matter of seconds after the break. He was widely criticised for his profligacy in the aftermath by pundits and fans but online messages to the forward went a step further.
«Chelsea Football Club is disgusted by the racial abuse directed towards Nicolas Jackson via social media, following Saturday evening's game,» the club wrote on Monday. «There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we operate a zero-tolerance approach to any incident of this nature.»
Pochettino addressed the abuse in his press conference ahead of a trip to Arsenal on Tuesday. «We all suffer, more public people suffer,» he said. «More in football because people hide behind social media and that is why it is not a reference. We always talk about that, that it is not a reference.
»Of course, we need to be there in social media because it is a good way to communicate with the fans, the good fans, the good people that want to know about us. But other people who hide behind social media. The most important thing is to be strong and to know that it is not a reference for what people think of you."
He explained the form in front of goal for his attacker too. «We were talking yesterday – he was tired, more than he normally is because the team wanted to win and all of the players wanted to go to the final. But he is young, he needs to
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