Chelsea FC Fan Given Lifetime Soccer Ban For Sending Antisemitic Tweets to Jewish Journalist

Shiryn Ghermezian

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Inside the Stamford Bridge soccer stadium. Photo: Vespa125125CFC via Wikimedia Commons

A fan of the London-based Chelsea Football Club (FC) who repeatedly sent antisemitic tweets to a Jewish journalist was given a lifetime ban by the team and a three-year Football Banning Order by a British court, which limits his ability to attend professional soccer matches in England.

Kerry Hardwell, a scaffolder from Bognor in West Sussex, was also sentenced by Worthing Magistrates’ Court on July 25 to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and issued a fine, Sussex Police announced last week.

A spokesperson for Chelsea Football Club said: “Chelsea FC condemns antisemitic abuse and hate speech in all its forms and we have no tolerance for it at our club. As soon as Sussex Police made us aware, Mr Hardwell was suspended pending the outcome of criminal proceedings.

“Subsequent to Mr Hardwell’s conviction, we can confirm that he has been issued with a lifetime ban from Chelsea FC,” the club added, before applauding the victim, Dan Levene, for coming forward with the torment that he faced. “Nobody should have to be subject to the type of disgusting abuse he has had to endure,” the soccer club said.

Levene is a freelance journalist who previously covered Chelsea and campaigned against racism and antisemitism in soccer, according to Sussex Police. He has written for The Athletic and Bleacher Report, has followed Chelsea FC for 35 years and his family has been supporters of soccer team for three generations.

Hardwell, 35, began sending Levene antisemitic messages on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the latter posted online about racist abuse at a Chelsea match, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Hardwell also regularly posted on social media hate speech that included antisemitic tropes targeting other public figures. According to Levene, in over 50 instances on social media, Hardwell referred to Jews as “vermin” and “parasite,” bragged about planning to sing antisemitic songs at Chelsea games, and in one tweet addressed British-Jewish business tycoon Lord Alan Sugar, calling him a “Y_d c__t.”

Sussex Police launched an investigation into Hardwell’s social media activity after Levene reported one of his posts to authorities in August 2022. Levene said hateful messages such as the ones he received from Hardwell resulting in him deciding to stop reporting on Chelsea.

In a victim impact statement shared with the court, Levene said: “The ‘Y-word’ is three letters that are often thrown away by people who may claim they don’t fully appreciate their collective meaning; with some football fans among that number. But everyone, most notably the defendant here, should be aware that it is a racially offensive word – and its use in a pejorative sense, as in this case, is a hate crime.”

“This word, and variants of it, have been used throughout history by extremists to demonize and persecute a minority. My minority,” he added. “This history is relevant, because it explains the pernicious nature of the word’s usage today.”

Hardwell pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications with offensive messages and one charge of sending an offensive message by a public communication network. The charges related to tweets from 2012 to 2022. The Worthing Magistrates’ Court ruled that the offense was racially aggravated.

“The vitriol in the messages were sent in the belief that because the person was behind a keyboard, they wouldn’t be identified. The defendant was wrong, and Hardwell will now have learned this lesson,” said Sussex Police’s Dedicated Football Officer PC Darren Balkham. “There is no place for antisemitic and racist abuse, either in football or in society.”

After Hardwell’s sentencing, Levene took to Twitter, now branded as X, to thank Chelsea FC and the Sussex Police for “the seriousness with which they treated this case.”

“Hardwell is one of the most prolific publishers of antisemitic abuse I encountered during my years reporting on Chelsea,” he added. “This is recognized in his lifetime ban from the club … Those among the club’s support who feel they can get away with racism/antisemitism should now be aware: there are no second chances. Other clubs may like to take note, and follow.”

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