LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea, a Premier League contender, are studying anti-Semitism among their fans by sending racist fans on trips to the Auschwitz camp.
The owner of the blues, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea, has adopted the new initiative, which will give the public an opportunity to attend educational courses at the camp in Poland.
From 1940 to 1945, the camp was transformed into a large complex of barracks, workshops, gas chambers and crematoria, where some 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, died.
Chelsea boss Bruce Pack believes it will be a step to change fans' attitudes rather than ban them from attending Premier League matches.
"If you just stop people from entering, you will never be able to change their behavior, but this policy gives them the opportunity to change and realize what they were doing to make them want to behave better," Buck said.
Chelsea criticized the actions of a group of fans for anti-Semitic slogans in a match against London rivals Tottenham in September 2017.
Tottenham has historically had a large public base among London's Jewish community, and the Spurs have been accused of anti-Semitic rhetoric for years by rival audiences.
"We used to take them out of the crowd and keep them out for up to three years," Beck said of Chelsea fans. "Now we make it clear to them that they have done something wrong and have the opportunity to choose between suspending or spending time with club plenipotentiaries to understand the nature of the mistake. "He said.