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Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea this summer has been the harbinger of many positive things at the club already, but on Sunday, it also meant the vociferous return of the “Frankie Lampard 200 goal” song, complete with its derogatory terminology used to describe West Ham.
Yes, the word “p*key”, just like the word “y*d”, is offensive and racist. Learn it and let’s be better.
I spoke to @GypsyTravellerM back in April about this, and this is what they said: "P*key is a racist slur. English Gypsies and Travellers of Irish Heritage are ethnic minorities and recognised as such under UK law."
— Dan Levene (@danlevene) July 28, 2019
Very good to see Frank Lampard setting a responsible lead, here.
The song has been a Stamford Bridge and Chelsea away section favorite ever since the goal itself in early 2013, and even after Lampard left a year later, it remained in standard rotation. Now that he’s back, one would only expect it to increase in frequency. And sure enough, with Reading the closest friendly to London that we’ve played this summer, it was sung loud and clear for all to hear from the very beginning.
It’s shameful, really, to be honoring the club’s greatest player with a racist song.
In fact, he’d love for you to stop it.
“I didn’t hear the song today but I’m aware of it. If there’s a song that has offensive words in it then of course I don’t want to hear that and that’s me saying that as a big Chelsea man who really appreciates the support I’ve had over the years.
“We don’t want songs with offensive words so if the fans can sing other songs while still backing the team, which is more important than myself, then I’ll certainly back that. We’re all aware the club are very strong with the work we do off the pitch in terms of anything that’s offensive or prejudice. We’ve made a big mark in recent years so we don’t want that.”
-Frank Lampard; source: Chelsea FC
Efforts to raise awareness and help lead the fight against anti-Semitism and discrimination of all forms has been at the forefront of Chelsea’s extracurricular activities for well over a year now, and that has included addressing specific situations, such as the racist chanting against Spurs or against Mohamed Salah, changing the Morata song, or the abuse suffered by Raheem Sterling. The club have done a good job in supporting efforts to stamp out racist chanting in the stands, starting with the y-word. Clearly, those effort should and will not stop there.
So, let’s be better. Change starts with you.