Chelsea offers to help former players who suffered racial abuse

Chelsea have offered counselling to Nathan Blake and other former players who say they were racially abused by coaches at the club.

Blake, who spent 15 months at Chelsea as a youth team player until 1990, was featured in last week's Mail on Sunday claiming coaching staff repeatedly used disgusting racial slurs during his time there.

In a BBC interview on Friday, Blake expanded on his time there.

'I spoke to coaches and the response was "We're doing it for your benefit".

Other apprentices at the time had been there so long they would say to me "You kind of get used to it". These were black players and I was like "No, how do you think this?" I am on my own fighting my corner.

'I had a super hero, strong mother who brought us up to understand racism, to never accept it and to deal with it if it confronts you. What they don’t understand is that (this) pain never leaves you.'

Chelsea promised a full investigation into claims made by three former youth-team players from the 1990s.

They allege abuse from coaches Gwyn Williams and Graham Rix. Among the claims is that Rix once threw a cup of hot coffee in the face of a young player.

A Chelsea spokesman said: ‘We’re determined to do the right thing, to assist the authorities and any investigations, and to fully support those affected, which includes counselling for any former player that may need it.’