Two former Chelsea youth coaches facing further racism claims

Four former Chelsea academy players have joined three others in accusing ex-coaches Gwyn Williams and Graham Rix of racially abusing young footballers in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.

The latest claims of racial abuse come with the backing of two white players who were on Chelsea's books at the time, Grant Lunn and Gary Baker, who, according to the Guardian's Daniel Taylor, have come forward to vouch for the four former teammates who have remained anonymous.

"Those boys had no support or no way of challenging it. There was nobody else to go to. They had to deal with it and accept it. There was no way anybody else would challenge it on their behalf as their card would have been marked. It was just the way it was. It wasn’t right, and that is clear now," Lunn said.

Williams and Rix in the past have denied "all and any allegations of racial or other abuse," and Chelsea said it is taking the accusations "extremely seriously."

"The allegations will be fully investigated. We are absolutely determined to do the right thing, to assist the authorities and any investigations they may carry out, and to fully support those affected which would include counselling for any former player that may need it," Chelsea's statement adds.

Previous legal claims made by three other former Chelsea academy members in January state that Williams and Rix were responsible for abusing black players in the 1990s, prompting a police investigation. According to the Guardian, the testimony included accusations that "Rix threw a cup of hot coffee in the face of one of the players," "One of the alleged victims was left with a bloody nose after Rix threw a football at him," and "Williams and Rix consistently addressed the alleged victims using strong racial slurs."

According to the Guardian, the police decided not to take action following the investigation, but the Football Association has begun its own inquiry and has interviewed two of the players.

Former Arsenal and England midfielder, Rix, 60, was at Chelsea in a coaching capacity from 1993 until 2000. In March 1999, Rix was sentenced to 12 months in prison for having underage sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Williams, 68, was hired at Stamford Bridge in 1979 as a youth development officer and worked as an assistant under Claudio Ranieri before leaving in 2006. He went on to become the technical director at Leeds before being dismissed in 2013 for sending obscene emails to coworkers, including pornography.