Named and shamed: Chelsea yob who made 'monkey' gesture at United ace Welbeck is exposed

The racist yob who abused Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck with a monkey gesture has been named as Gavin Kirkham.
As of early on Friday morning no arrest had been made following his disgraceful actions during Chelsea’s 5-4 win in the Capital One Cup clash at Stamford Bridge.
Kirkham, 28, was pictured making an obscene gesture at Welbeck from the Matthew Harding Stand, triggering yet another police investigation at the club yesterday. Kirkham, from Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire, was sitting in the same area where a steward was injured during Sunday’s league game with Manchester United.

Taunt: Chelsea fan Gavin Kirkham appears to make a monkey gesture at Stamford Bridge

The monkey gesture was particularly embarrassing for Chelsea after they went to great lengths to remind supporters that safety and respectful behaviour is paramount.

Chelsea, who had pleaded with supporters to identify the culprit — who was sat in row one of the stand — are already on the back foot over another racism incident, after alleging that referee Mark Clattenburg called John Mikel Obi a ‘monkey’ in the league match with United.

Chelsea had said they would ban the individual for life when he was eventually identified.

A Chelsea spokesman said: ‘Chelsea are committed to removing all forms of discrimination and if we have sufficient evidence we will take the strongest possible action, including supporting criminal prosecution.’

Chelsea are under siege after a series of racism rows and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger criticised them for publicising their complaint against Clattenburg.

Stirring the pot: Manchester United fans display a banner about Clattenburg, mocking the well-known slogan Chelsea fans attach to captain John Terry, who allegedly racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand

 

Wenger, however, believes any dispute should have been settled immediately after the match or behind closed doors.

The Frenchman repeatedly hit out at Chelsea’s decision to ‘go public’ with their allegations and insisted such matters should remain private.

Wenger said: ‘I believe one of the great things in sport is the battle. When it is on in football, especially in England, you can sort out the problems you had internally. If it becomes a sport to make the lawyers rich, I am not a fan of it.

‘One of the great things in sports, as well, is tolerance, forgiveness and explanation internally and I think it should stay like that.
'It can happen that a referee doesn’t behave well. I do not say they are angels, but it is always better to sort it out in the (match officials’) room.

‘I prefer, when I didn’t behave well, that I have an explanation with the referee at the end of the game, or on another day, than going public with little proof. I’m not a great believer in making these stories public.
‘I must say that my deep feeling is that I was not always completely behaving very well in this situation, because they are very heated situations. But I am a deep supporter of doing that internally.’

Chelsea dropped their second allegation against Clattenburg after an external legal team warned them that their claim he called Juan Mata ‘a Spanish t***’ would not stand up before an FA commission. The club appeared robust and confident of success, however, in their pursuit of Clattenburg over claims he called Mikel a ‘monkey’.

Hitting out: Arsene Wenger slammed Chelsea for going public with their claims against Mark Clattenburg

On Thursday the FA were sifting through Chelsea witness statements. The FA’s compliance department have yet to make a decision over whether to interview Chelsea players formally, but there will be scepticism over Jenni Kennedy’s role by Chelsea.

As head of compliance she taped her interview with John Terry after he was accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand at Loftus Road on October 23, 2011.

Incredibly she failed to tape the interview with left back Ashley Cole, which caused considerable discomfort and embarrassment for the FA in the independent regulatory commission.

This time Chelsea will insist that they are recorded and are likely to be accompanied by a club lawyer if the FA decide there is a case to answer.

Mikel only discovered the allegation when he entered the dressing room last Sunday in a conversation with Ramires. Mikel then attempted to kick down Clattenburg’s door before he confronted the official.