Five Chelsea fans who were involved over in an incident of racism has been barred for life from attending matches at the English champions' Stamford Bridge, the AFP reports. The men were previously banned from football matches for up to five years, before court proceedings concluded Wednesday.

As noted by the report, the men, which included a former police officer in Richard Barklie, were involved in an incident where a black Frenchman was repeatedly shoved off a metro train carriage before a Champions League match between Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain.

"This was an abhorrent, nasty, offensive, arrogant and utterly unacceptable behavior and cannot be allowed in modern, civilized society," district judge Gareth Branston said at Stratford Magistrates Court in east London. "It must be stamped out."

The 50-year-old Barklie, a director with the World Human Rights Forum, said in court that there was no racist motive in pushing Souleymane Sylla off the train, adding that the Frenchman showed aggression for trying to board a crowded train.

Barklie, along with 20-year-old Josh Parsons, 26-year-old William Simpson and 32-year-old Dean Callis were the ones who received five-year bans for their roles in the incident, while 20-year-old Jordan Munday was accused of joining a racist chant and was subsequently banned for three years, according to the report.

"The behavior of these five individuals was abhorrent, against all of the club's values and falls way below the standards the club expects of supporters attending our games," said Chelsea in a statement. "Therefore the club's bans permanently prohibit any of these individuals from attending Stamford Bridge or purchasing tickets from the club for any future matches."

Barklie has expressed that he is considering an appeal.

"I have always accepted that I pushed Mr. Sylla off the Metro," Barklie said.
"The reason was because the Metro was crowded and there was no room for him to get onto that carriage...He was pushed off the train because there was no room and not because of the color of his skin," he added. "It is important to remember that only after Mr. Sylla had been pushed off did the racist singing start. I am not responsible for the actions of those around me."